Decoding Trump's 'peace through strength'

The real story behind the snappy slogan is the US government is divided about defence policy.

- Denny Roy

The second Trump administration has reprised the phrase "peace through strength" as the bumper-sticker summary of its international security policy.

The phrase well predates the Trump administration. The ancient Roman Emperor Hadrian used it. "Peace through strength" was the motto of the US Eighth Air Force during World War II and the title of a book about US plans for post-war Europe. Every platform of the US Republican Party since 1980 includes the phrase, although Ronald Reagan is perhaps most famous for it.

President Donald Trump himself used this phrase during his first term.

The phrase is a concise definition of the concept of deterrence — by making itself strong, a country can dissuade an adversary from attacking.

In highlighting this phrase, the Trump government seemingly suggests US policy will now look different because deterrence has become the guiding principle. But it is more likely Mr Trump and his advisers simply like the phrase because they want to associate themselves with the words "peace" and "strength". These words echo two of Mr Trump's boasts. One is that he is the president who stops other countries from victimizing the US. The other is that his presidency prevents wars.

Beyond this, it is doubtful the phrase offers useful insight into the next four years of US security policy. Consider the many interpretations of this elastic concept.

Former Trump official Robert O'Brien said peace through strength means that "foes would once again fear American power", but also that Washington would avoid getting involved in foreign conflicts.

Current Trump official Keith Kellogg and conservative foreign policy analyst Dan Negrea write that Mr Trump's peace through strength policy "asks our allies to participate more in defending our common interests".

Republican Party political strategist Karl Rove says peace through strength means a forward-deployed US military and a rejection of "neo-isolationism".