Trump wants the US military to be rent-a-cops

A mercenary vision of American power.

One of President Donald Trump’s core political positions has always been that US allies should pay more for the benefits they receive from US military power. This has included demanding that South Korea and Japan pay more for the presence of US troops on their soil, and suggesting that the US would only honor its mutual defense obligations under NATO for countries that are not “delinquent” in their defense spending.

Lately, however, he appears to be going even further — mulling the idea of turning the US military into a kind of force for hire.

In his recent remarks, President Donald Trump has recast US military power as a paid service. Rather than treating America’s global security role as advancing US strategic interests, Trump increasingly frames military protection as something other countries should buy — whether through naval escorts in the Strait of Hormuz or a broader “guardian” role financed by Middle East oil revenues.

Washington has long justified its global military presence as serving America’s own economic and security interests. Trump’s approach replaces that logic with a far more transactional one, where military intervention is expected to generate direct financial returns.

In the wake of the disappointing results of the Iran war, America’s depleted military resources, and countries in the region looking to diversify their alliances, it’s not clear that there are still customers for what Trump is selling.

Politico recently reported that Trump administration officials have been considering ideas to encourage still-reluctant shippers to return to the Strait of Hormuz, despite their concerns that it still isn’t safe after the US-Iran ceasefire deal. (This was before Iran announced on June 20 that it was reclosing the strait, throwing the entire arrangement into doubt.) The ideas reportedly included a “VIP pass” system where shippers would pay the US to receive a naval escort through the strait.

On an even more expansive note, Trump suggested in an interview with the New York Times’ David Sanger last week that if Iran does not abide by the terms of its deal with the US, one step he might consider would be making the United States “the guardian of the Middle East” in return for 20 percent of the region’s revenues — effectively a regional police force paid in oil money.

Over the weekend, Trump expanded on that idea in a Truth Social post, pushing back on reports that Iran would charge tolls for ships transiting the strait, writing, “There ​will be NO TOLLS in the ​Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there ​will be NO TOLLS ​after the 60 day period has expired, ‌unless ⁠they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not ​be ​completed, for ⁠services rendered........

© Vox