The Trump administration issued another warning to European allies that the United States would be pulling back its forces from parts of the globe to prioritize its own interests and defense of the Western Hemisphere. The 2026 National Defense Strategy, released late Friday, is one of several guiding documents that the military uses to plan and shape its forces around the globe to meet its civilian leaders’ strategic priorities. Like other key strategic documents released by the Trump administration in the past year, the 2026 National Defense Strategy signals that European allies can no longer depend on the U.S. to deter Russia. The military will now focus on “fighting, winning, and thereby deterring the wars that really matter to our people,” Hegseth added. The 2026 National Defense Strategy breaks from previous strategies in other ways, reading at times more like a Hegseth stump speech to troops rather than the Pentagon’s core planning document.

Source: Washington Post January 25, 2026 20:58 UTC