President Donald Trump outlined his new National Security Strategy in a speech Monday, touting administration successes from defense to jobs and outlining his plans for the country’s national security future.
The strategy is built on four pillars, or national interests. These include: “Protect the homeland, the American People, and American way of life; promote American prosperity; preserve peace through strength; [and] advance American influence,” according to a White House brief on the strategy.
“Our strategy calls for us to confront, discredit and defeat radical Islamic terrorism and ideology and to prevent it from spreading into the United States,” Trump added during his speech. “We will develop new ways to counter those who use new domains such as cyber and social media to attack our nation or threaten our society.”
He addressed border issues that have unfolded over the past year.
“We have established strict new vetting procedures to keep terrorists out of the United States and our vetting is getting tougher each month,” he added.
Trump also mentioned his sanctioning of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for terror support and that he declined to certify the Iran deal, as well as the many challenges faced in the Middle East.
“Following my trip to the Middle East, the Gulf states and other Muslim-majority nations joined together to fight radical Islamist ideology and terrorist financing,” he said. “The coalition to defeat ISIS has now recaptured almost 100 percent of the land once held by these terrorists in Iraq and in Syria.”
In Afghanistan, Trump said troops aren’t hindered by “artificial timelines,” and he put Pakistan on notice that the United States is willing to continue its partnership, but Pakistan must demonstrate “decisive action” against terror groups on Pakistani soil.
With NATO, Trump said “tens of billions of dollars more” were pouring in. “I would not allow member states to be delinquent in the payment while we guarantee their safety, and are willing to fight wars,” he said. “We have made clear that countries that are immensely wealthy should reimburse the United States for the cost of defending them.”
Trump also noted pressure on North Korea and continued work with allies to isolate the rogue state.
“This situation should have been taken care of long before I got into office, when it was much easier to handle,” he said.
The president also singled out Russian and China as rivals, but left the door open for dialog and cooperation.
“We will attempt to build a great partnership with those and other countries, but in a matter that always protects our national interest,” Trump said. “But while we seek such opportunities of cooperation, we will stand up for ourselves, and we will stand up for our country like we have never stood up before.”
As far as how the country’s state of affairs, Trump took aim at Washington and his predecessors, insisting many moves in recent years were against the will of the people.
“Leaders in Washington imposed on the country an immigration policy that Americans never voted for, never asked for, and never approved—a policy where the wrong people are allowed into our country, and the right people are rejected,” Trump said. “On top of everything else, our leaders drifted from American principles and lost sight of America’s destiny, and they lost their belief in American greatness.”
Watch the entire Trump speech here, and stay tuned to Homeland411 for additional updates.
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