New cuts to US military support for its allies

The document, published over the weekend, complements the recent, broader document on the new national strategy, although in the case of the Pentagon, it focuses almost exclusively on military aspects.

However, it is in line with the former, reorienting priorities and confirming the Trump administration's repeated signals of distancing itself from its traditional partners. In addition, it once again urges its allies to take responsibility for their own security, recognizing in passing that, on the part of the United States, its priorities are national security and deterrence against China, the superpower it considers to be the main threat.

Following the line so often drawn by President Trump, the Pentagon document notes that the most powerful European members of NATO “are already well positioned to take on the conventional defense of Europe.” This capacity is also recognized in another key ally in Asia, South Korea, which it considers capable of deterring North Korea from attacking its neighbor south of the 38th parallel. 

This retreat by the American giant toward its internal security also has implications for the entire American continent. Thus, the document announces that “we will engage in good faith dialogue with our neighbors, from Canada to our partners in Central and South America, but we will ensure that they respect and contribute to the defense of our common interests... And if they do not, we will be prepared to take specific and decisive measures that tangibly promote the interests of the United States.”

Also striking is the Pentagon's refocusing on internal threats: “We will prioritize our efforts to close our borders, repel any form of invasion, and deport undocumented aliens,” which makes it clear that the U.S. military may be used for police work, equating undocumented immigrants with a terrorist threat to the country, especially if they commit a crime.

The publication of this document follows President Donald Trump's intense declarative activity at the Davos Forum, with high-profile interventions in which he has not only displayed his country's enormous power, but has also not refrained from criticizing, if not openly despising, Europe.

EU leaders, at an emergency summit on Thursday, decided not to break the increasingly weak thread of the transatlantic link over Greenland and, after criticizing it in private, to accept NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's promise of negotiations leading to the immense Arctic island being defended by the organization, but with almost total leadership and authority from the United States, sidestepping the thorny issue of the transfer of sovereignty, which Trump demanded “by hook or by crook.”

In this forced delegation that the United States imposes on its allies in self-defense in certain areas of the world, Trump once again referred to Spain as an exception within NATO in reaching 5% of GDP in defense, despite Pedro Sánchez having signed the document in which he committed, along with the other members, to do so. “We will have to talk to Spain,” Trump said in Davos, as a warning that such a conversation will be more of a reprimand and admonishment than a pat on the back and congratulations.