“America First” will Compromise Homeland Security and Disrupt American Soft Power

The Trump Administration’s two promises—pursuing an “America first” policy and exterminating radical jihadism—require an investment in American soft power that would prioritize diplomacy over military spending. Yet the involvement of a high number of military brass in the administration and the presence of public hostility against career diplomats raise significant questions in the Arab world. Will the United States gradually leave the region, pivoting to the Far East? Or is the Trump Administration willing to embrace adventurist militarism in the Middle East? READ MORE