Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Donald Trump views armed dominance as the essential element of U.S. policy in the global arena. The New York Times and the Washington Post support his notions with their regular calls for greater military spending and nuclear modernization. Now it seems that the think tank community is joining the mainstream media in praising aspects of Trump’s dangerous national security agenda.

The charter of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft claims to promote ideas that “move U.S. foreign policy away from endless war, toward military restraint and diplomacy in the pursuit of international peace.” The Institute was co-founded by Andrew Bacevich, known for denigrating the “forever wars” of the United States and the “new American militarism.” In a recent assessment, however, the Institute argues that many elements of Trump’s national security agenda “advance U.S. responsible statecraft.” Every aspect of this assessment is questionable.

***According to the Quincy Institute, “The new National Security Strategy (NSS) represents a significant shift away from the pursuit of primacy. Its formal rejection of global dominance marks a necessary break from the post-Cold War consensus that led to endless war and strategic overextension.”

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