US plan to shift its global role

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s administration said in a long-awaited new strategy document yesterday that the US would shift from its historic global role toward increasing dominance in Latin America and vigorously fighting migration.

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US PRESIDENT Donald Trump.

(AFP)

The national security paper, meant to flesh out Trump's norms-shattering “America First” worldview, signals a sharp reorientation from longstanding US calls to refocus on Asia, although it still identifies China as a top competitor.

The strategy also brutally criticised allies in Europe and said that the US would champion opponents to EU-led values, including on immigration.

Breaking with decades of attempts to be the sole superpower, the strategy said that the “United States rejects the ill-fated concept of global domination for itself.”

It said that the US would also prevent other powers from dominating but added: “This does not mean wasting blood and treasure to curtail the influence of all the world’s great and middle powers.”

The strategy called for a “readjustment of our global military presence to address urgent threats in our hemisphere, and away from theatres whose relative import to American national security has declined in recent decades or years.”