51吃瓜

In a little over one year, the US鈥� foreign policy has moved from 鈥溾�� to 鈥溾�� 鈥� a series of joint American-Israeli on Tehran accompanied by a chilling from President Donald Trump for Iranian civilians to 鈥渢ake over鈥� their government.

The attacks came after Iranian and American diplomats to make a nuclear deal and have since into a full-blown conflict with several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With world war saturating headlines amidst mutual between Israel and Iran, Iran鈥檚 over the Strait of Hormuz, and an ceasefire between the US and Iran, surrounding countries are their weapons stockpile while for peace.

Despite the above aggressions, the Trump Administration continues to use the language of restraint. Shortly before the outbreak, Vice President JD Vance announced a 鈥淣ew World Order鈥� on , reiterating the vision laid out in the US National Security Strategy () 鈥� released in December of last year 鈥� which asserts newfound restraint in European affairs, an alleged 鈥淎merica First鈥� realignment and prioritization of domestic interests.

The message was clear: The US would scale back and loosen its grip on previous transatlantic systems. The administration鈥檚 actions have yet to reflect this stated policy.

Great power competition

While speaking to EU leaders at the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance perceived threats from Russia and China and pushed countries to increase their own defense spending 鈥� implying a downgrade of great-power confrontation from the American side. But in practice, Washington has hardly disengaged from countering Russian and Chinese influence abroad.

In early January 2026, off the tail end of 鈥�,鈥� Trump Venezuelan President Nicol谩s Maduro on his own soil and secured Venezuelan oil that would鈥檝e otherwise gone to China 鈥� then China to buy it. These actions directly threatened the cited in the NSS.

The pattern continues in the Middle East. Though the decision to American troops from Syria was complementary to the Security Strategy, the US quietly fortified its military proxies and in Al Hasakah, any remaining Russian influence in the country amidst its reconstruction.

Without official involvement in the of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the US still openly to keep Syria鈥檚 interim government intact, and even the 鈥渇ormer鈥� Ahmad al-Sharaa to the White House late last year. Backlash from the meeting with a man who contributed to killing American troops shed a light on everything but this Administration鈥檚 focus on domestic affairs.

President Trump鈥檚 Board of Peace has also major controversy 鈥� specifically its of government leaders from all over the world to decide on Gaza鈥檚 fate and reconstruction after the Israel-Hamas war 80% of all structures in the territory, securing $17 billion in from member countries thus far (while the funds have ).

Forming a handpicked international club to decide on what to do with land in another hemisphere hardly demonstrates domestic focus and adds tension with other global organizations, like the United Nations, which has since its formation.

President Trump鈥檚 message to Iranians during the strikes endangered civilians and our troops, regardless of intention. certain death to any Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) militants who do not cooperate also contrasts with the NSS鈥檚 to avoid 鈥渇orever wars,鈥� despite the Administration鈥檚 efforts to it.

Retaliation targeted several across the Middle East, including ones in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE. Though the goal is to the 47-year-old Islamist regime and pave the way for liberated civilians to regain control of their country, the US Government is overlooking Iran鈥檚 multiple across the region, who may , endangering local civilians and American troops.

If restraint is America鈥檚 guiding doctrine, its actions complicate the narrative and are hardly acts of retreating from global entanglements. As Europe to craft its own independent security strategy, US intervention abroad is a global geopolitical shift.

Whether the above is a newly emerging form of diplomacy or imperialism, one must notice the stark contrast between American actions and rhetoric yet again. This is not a uniquely Trump phenomenon, however, as several American presidents have promised retreat while delivering attacks.

Presidential Patterns

President Barack Obama ran on 鈥渆ndless wars,鈥� but instead drone campaigns and expanded US in Libya and . President Joe Biden鈥檚 鈥� for the middle class鈥� billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine while NATO鈥檚 defense. During Trump鈥檚 first term, vows to from the Middle East coexisted with escalatory moves such as top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

This issue transcends red versus blue, or any simplistic framing of good president versus bad president. It is a blatant fault in American foreign policy 鈥� the underlying policy 鈥� that seems to repeat itself every four years. Campaign rhetoric gestures towards restraint, recalibration, or domestic focus, but the governing reality reasserts intervention, coalition-building and power projection.

Restraint in rhetoric is not restraint in practice. If America鈥檚 current foreign policy is truly one of restraint, as Vance , it is a version that still intervenes and redraws geopolitical lines 鈥� calling the premise itself into question. Until American leaders reconcile their words with their actions, 鈥淎merica First鈥� will continue to look less like retrenchment and more like rebranded global management.

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