Defending the Homeland, shaking up allies, and deterring China: Key takeaways from the new US defense strategy

The US War Department unveiled its new National Defense Strategy on Friday, signaling significant shifts in the country’s military posture.

Titled ‘Restoring peace through strength for a new golden age of America’, the plan outlines the Pentagon’s stance towards China, Russia, and other “cunning adversaries,” as well as its approach to allies and main priorities.

Here are the key takeaways from the new strategy:

Blaming predecessors

The preface of the document goes to great lengths to rip into the actions of the previous US administration, accusing it of steering America into “one of the most dangerous security environments in our nation’s history.” 

Under President Joe Biden, US allies were encouraged to “free-ride” instead of “taking their defenses seriously,” while America’s “cunning adversaries” were allowed to grow bolder, the document asserts. At home, US borders “were overrun,” while “narco-terrorists and other enemies grew more powerful throughout the Western Hemisphere,” it claims.

Focus on ‘defending the homeland’  

The new strategy focuses on the “defense of the US Homeland” and states the Pentagon intends to “actively and fearlessly defend America’s interests” throughout the entire Western Hemisphere. 

“We will secure America’s borders and maritime approaches, and we will defend our nation’s skies through Golden Dome for America,” the document reads, explicitly naming the Panama Canal, Gulf of America (known internationally as the Gulf of Mexico), and Greenland as “key terrain” for US “military and commercial” access.

That goal is to be achieved through various means, including by maintaining a “robust and modern nuclear deterrent” and creating and sustaining “formidable cyber defenses,” as well as through “hunting and neutralizing” unspecified “Islamic terrorists” who allegedly have the “ability and intent to strike our Homeland.”  

Deterring China  

Unlike previous defense strategies, the document no longer designates China as a strategic threat, proclaiming the need to “deter” Beijing rather than confront it directly. The document recognizes China’s growing regional influence and military modernization as serious challenges, yet avoids saying that an all-out conflict between the US and China is looming.  

“Our goal in doing so is not to dominate China; nor is it to strangle or humiliate them. Rather, our goal is simple: To prevent anyone, including China, from being able to dominate us or our allies. This does not require regime change or some other existential struggle,” the strategy reads.

The new strategy does not mention Taiwan. While Beijing considers the self-governed island an integral part of its territory, Taipei has long maintained close security cooperation with Washington, which has long been a source of tension between the two powers. 

Attitude to Russia

The document signals similar shifts in the US attitude to Russia, declaring it a “persistent but manageable threat to NATO’s eastern members for the foreseeable future.” The new strategy also recognizes that Russia “possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, which it continues to modernize and diversify,” while the Ukraine conflict has demonstrated that Moscow retains “deep reservoirs of military and industrial power” despite demographic and economic issues.

While the Pentagon is still prepared to defend against alleged “Russian threats to the US Homeland,” European NATO members must take the lead in dealing with regional security issues, including the Ukraine conflict, which is “Europe’s responsibility first and foremost,” it states. 

US demands burden-sharing

The new strategy is not an “isolationist one,” but is focused on the “practical interests of Americans” above all else. The document outlines a need to “increase burden-sharing with US allies and partners,” who are considered “essential” in dealing with assorted global and regional challenges, while the Pentagon focuses on domestic defense.  

“Through this America First, commonsense lens, America’s alliances and partners have an essential role to play—but not as the dependencies of the last generation,” it reads. “In all cases, we will be honest but clear about the urgent need for them to do their part and that it is in their own interests to do so without delay.” 

The document singles out Israel, described as a “model ally” able to act on its own, while blaming the Biden administration for “tying its hands” instead of “empowering” it even further. 

Beefing up the military-industrial complex  

The new strategy proclaims a need to “supercharge” the US “defense industrial base,” and asserts that President Donald Trump has been leading a “once-in-a-century revival of American industry.”  

“We must return to being the world’s premier arsenal, one that can produce not only for ourselves but also for our allies and partners at scale, rapidly, and at the highest levels of quality,” the document reads. 

To achieve this goal, the Pentagon plans to “reinvest” in local military production, get rid of “outdated policies,” and adopt new technologies like AI, while simultaneously leveraging “allied and partner production.”