The Adjustment Of American Military Strategy From Obama Administration To Trump Administration

Strategic objectives,strategic principles and strategic means are the basic elements of military strategy.Studying American military strategy from the perspective of these three basic elements is helpful to grasp its adjustment changes more deeply.After the end of the Cold War,the United States successively formulated the "Regional Defense" strategy under the George Herbert Walker Bush administration,the "Flexible and Selective Engagement" strategy and the "Shaping,Responding and Prepare Now" strategy under the Bill Clinton administration,the "Protect,Prevent,Prevail" strategy under the George Walker Bush administration.The American military strategy explored and adjusted under the background of the era after the end of the Cold War,showing two different stages of development.From the end of the Cold War to the "September 11" incident,the U.S.military strategy fell into a period of confusion due to the loss of clear strategic objectives.After the "September 11" incident,the U.S.quickly focused on terrorism,and winning the war on terrorism became the primary objective of its military strategy.Since the Obama administration,the strategic objectives of the U.S.military have changed dramatically,from winning the war on terrorism to winning wars between nations,to dealing with great power competition.During the first term of the Obama administration,the U.S.developed a "Balanced" military strategy.The "Balanced" military strategy identifies "Counter Violent Extremism" "Deter and Defeat Aggression" "Strengthen International and Regional Security" and "Shape the Future Force" as strategic objectives.However,at the end of the first term of the Obama administration,the U.S.military strategic objectives began to shift from the core functions of the military,resulting in the phenomenon of target generalization.In the second term of the Obama administration,the U.S.developed an "Integrated" military strategy.The "Integrated" military strategy set the objectives of "Deter,deny,and defeat state adversaries" "Disrupt,degrade,and defeat violent extremist organizations" and "Strengthen our global network of allies and partners".The "Integrated" military strategy corrected the strategic deviation in the late period of Obama's first term,focused on competition and war among nations,which laid an ideological foundation for the Donald Trump administration to comprehensively adjusted the U.S.military strategy.Since the Trump administration took office,the U.S.government did not publicly release its National Military Strategy Report.However,from the National Security Strategy Report and Summary of the 2018 National Defense Strategy,it can be seen that the Trump administration set "Long-term strategic competition with China and Russia;Guard against North Korea and Iran;Counter violent extremism " as threats and broken it down into 11 specific targets.Since the Obama administration,the U.S.military strategic principle has undergone a shift from inward to outward expansion.The Obama administration's first term established a "Balanced" military strategic principle that "seek a new balance between immediate needs and the most likely and lethal threats in the future;Strike a balance between threats from traditional states and new threats from non-state actors;Strike a balance between improving military projection capabilities,deterring aggression,and aiding allies and partners,and responding to the emerging threats of air-sea battle,long-range strikes,and space and cyberspace;At the completion of the current victory in the war,to prevent and deter conflict,ready to defeat the enemy in a variety of emergency operations and success,to maintain and strengthen the 'whole all-volunteer force troops' four priorities for resources and risk balance between them".The Obama administration's second term put forward the "Integrated" military strategic principle,emphasized "Conducting globally integrated operations" "Implementing institutional reforms at home" "Sustaining the capabilities,capacity,and readiness required to prevail in conflicts that may differ significantly in scope,scale,and duration" three ways to implement the "Integrated" strategic principle.The "Integrated" military strategic principle is the deepened and upgraded of the "Balanced" strategic principle.It is the "Balanced" principle at a higher level.As a whole,the U.S.military strategic principle of President Obama's two terms was an introverted approach.After the Trump's administration came into office,under the guidance of the "principled realism" national security strategic principle,it put forward the military strategic principle of "Seek peace through strength",showing the color of outward expansion.Under the guidance of different military strategic objectives and principles,the military strategic means had undergone significant changes since the Obama administration.In Obama's first term,under the background of financial distress,the U.S.military adjusted its military construction priorities,adjusted its nuclear policy,turned comprehensive counter-terrorism into a priority,attached importance to the development of anti-missile systems and cyberspace.The military construction of the United States has been comprehensively developed,and the military strategic objectives of the United States have been maintained and realized.During this period,the military strategy of the United States had been pragmatic and successful.The Obama administration's second term,under the guidance of "Integrated" strategic principle,compressed force size,improved the key operational capability,with "Protect the homeland " "Build security globally" "Project power and win decisively" support the military strategy principle,made new strategy of countering Weapons of Mass Destruction and cyberspace,implemented the Third Offset Strategy.After the Trump administration came into office,under the guidance of the strategic principle of "Seek peace through strength",the Trump administration proposed to rebuild the U.S.military,substantially increased military expenditure,expanded military strength,strengthened alliance relations,attached importance to improving the combat capability in emerging areas,and reshaped the traditional strategic strength advantage.The adjustment of the U.S.military strategy since the Obama administration has gone through the adjustment of the overall inward contraction during the Obama administration,and the change of the Trump administration into outward expansion.Among them,the national interests,the special interests of the military-industrial complex,the unique strategic culture of the United States are relatively continuous factors that affect the adjustment of the military strategy of the U.S..Factors such as international strategic environment,domestic economic situation,political preference and strategic capability of the ruling authorities,and development of science and technology are easily changeable factors influencing the adjustment of military strategy of the U.S..Since the Obama administration,the U.S.military strategy towards China has undergone significant adjustment,and the Chinese factor has become an important driving force for the U.S.military strategy adjustment.The United States has shifted from a positive attitude toward China to a negative one.It has become more vigilant against China's military power,and has successively launched the strategy of Asia-Pacific Rebalanced Strategy and the Indo-Pacific Strategy with the main goal of containing China.In the future,the change of the ruling authorities of the United States will directly determine the continuation of the current military strategy,and new technological breakthroughs and military applications will trigger a major adjustment of the military strategy of the U.S.,and the inherent contradictions of the military strategy will lead to its cyclical adjustment.