Speaking to graduates of the Military Academy at West Point, Donald Trump said that the United States is "not a world gendarme" and the responsibility of the US military is not to resolve long-standing conflicts in distant lands that many have not even heard of.

“We are reviving the fundamental principles according to which the task of the American soldier is not to restore other states, but to protect - our country's most decisive defense against foreign enemies. We are ending the era of endless wars. Instead, we will have a new, sober course to protect vital American interests, ”Trump said.

At the same time, the US president emphasized that his administration took up the "colossal restoration" of the US armed forces. Trump noted that more than $ 2 trillion was allocated for these needs. It is worth noting that every year of his presidency, the country's military budget set new records.

Currently, according to the head of the White House, hundreds of American enterprises produce new ships, bombers, fighters, helicopters. In addition, they build tanks, military satellites and missiles.

A significant achievement, the US president called the creation of a hypersonic missile, which is supposedly 17 times faster than its current counterparts. The range of the new ammunition, according to Trump, is 1,000 miles (1.6 thousand km), the probable deviation from the target is 14 inches (35.5 cm). At the same time, the head of the White House did not explain what kind of weapon in question and when his tests were carried out.

“Retained its ideological position”

Experts drew attention to the conflicting points made in the speech of Trump at West Point. According to them, on the one hand, the head of the White House proclaimed the principle of refusing armed intervention in the affairs of foreign states, and on the other, he reaffirmed his commitment to "pumping up" the military budget with money in order to quantitatively and qualitatively strengthen the army with new offensive weapons.

  • US troops in Iraq
  • Reuters
  • © Saad Shalash

In an interview with RT, political analyst Alexander Asafov noted that Trump’s statements at West Point contain elements of his 2016 election campaign. Then the candidate from the Republicans promised to settle local armed conflicts in which the American troops are participating and to “get along” with alternative poles of power - Russia and China.

“In general, Trump has maintained his ideological position. First of all, he seeks to minimize the loss of American soldiers abroad. However, the reality turned out to be much more complicated: America continues its military expansion in dozens of countries, holds a huge number of provocative exercises, and relations with Moscow and Beijing objectively become more tense, ”the expert said.

According to the analyst, the US foreign policy of the past four years has retained its traditionally aggressive, expansionist character. Asafov believes that under Trump, only a little changed methods by which Washington is trying to maintain the status of global hegemon.

So, recently, the United States has mainly been limited to one-time military actions against states that they consider to be enemies. In 2017-2018, US forces launched several missile strikes against objects of the Syrian army, and on the night of January 3, 2020 in Baghdad, with the help of a drone, the US military killed Iranian general Kassem Suleimani.

In his speech at West Point, Trump placed Suleymani on a par with the leader of the Islamic State * Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was allegedly destroyed last fall.

The liquidation of Suleimani has led to a serious aggravation of the situation in the Middle East, which ultimately affected American positions in Iraq. As an act of retaliation, Iran delivered ballistic missile strikes at the locations of US troops in this Arab country. Later, Iraqi bases of the United States Armed Forces were attacked several times by unknown persons.

In addition, Trump did not fulfill his promise to return home American soldiers who are illegally in Syria. As a result, the United States maintained a military presence in the republic under the pretext of continuing the fight against IS and the “protection” of oil fields.

In an interview with RT, Azhdar Kurtov, editor-in-chief of the journal “Problems of National Strategy” of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISI), said Trump’s refusal to withdraw troops from Syria was caused primarily by his reluctance to admit defeat in the struggle to overthrow President Bashar Assad. In addition, from the point of view of the American establishment, a military presence in the SAR is necessary as a lever of pressure on Iran.

“In the Syrian direction, US policy ended in failure, and in such a situation, Trump must save his face, that is, not give up those positions that he still managed to maintain. For this reason, the Americans continue to support the Kurds and local militants, periodically deliver air strikes, and try to escalate the situation around the military of Russia and Iran, ”Kurtov said.

According to the expert’s forecast, the presence of US troops in Syria and Iraq will continue mainly with the aim of “containing” Moscow, Tehran and Damascus, as well as to counter the peace process launched without Washington’s participation in the Arab Republic.

“Craving for absolute dominance”

Another extreme negative phenomenon of Trump's foreign policy, experts called the destruction of the established architecture of international security. In May 2018, the US president announced his withdrawal from a nuclear deal with Iran, which his predecessor Barack Obama called one of the key achievements of American diplomacy.

Following this, the United States strengthened the sanctions regime and military pressure on Tehran. For example, Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with armed operations in the Persian Gulf, accusing the republic's fleet of dangerous maneuvers.

The White House has also initiated the withdrawal from fundamental agreements in the field of nuclear safety - the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty). In addition, the extension of the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires in February 2021, remains open to question.

  • US Navy grouping off the coast of Iran
  • AFP
  • © US Navy

According to experts, all this increases the risk of an arms race and the emergence of new armed conflicts.

“The USA under Trump really began to fight less, but decisions were made that increase the risk of new large-scale wars. The United States is trying to position itself as the number one power and concentrate resources to uphold this status, ”said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Research, in a conversation with RT.

According to the analyst, Trump seeks to somewhat reduce the military participation of the American army in local conflicts, so as not to "spray" money and forces on them. However, a full withdrawal of troops from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, from the point of view of the US president, is impossible due to the threat of loss of influence in the Middle East, the expert noted.

“Trump wants to dump unnecessary, as he argues, obligations to allies in different regions of the world, to show before the elections that he is consistently implementing a non-intervention program, which he spoke about four years ago. But all the wars in which the United States is involved are a natural manifestation of the desire for absolute dominance. Therefore, Washington’s real refusal from the role of the world gendarme should not be expected, ”Bruter emphasized.

* “Islamic State” (IG) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.