Washington, Jan 25, 2026
The United States says it seeks “a decent peace” with potential adversaries—one achieved not through confrontation or perpetual war, but through sustained military strength and pragmatic realism—according to the 2026 National Defense Strategy.
The strategy frames US military power as a tool to secure peace on terms that protect Americans’ security, freedom and prosperity, while remaining compatible with the interests of other nations if their demands remain “reasonable and cabined.” It describes this approach as a clear departure from past doctrines rooted in open-ended conflicts, regime change and ideological missions abroad.
“Our purpose will not be aggression or perpetual war. Rather, our goal is peace,” the document states, emphasizing that peace must not come at the cost of sacrificing “our people’s security, freedoms, and prosperity.”
The strategy rejects what it calls “grandiose strategies of the past post–Cold War administrations,” arguing that those approaches were “untethered” from Americans’ practical interests. Instead, it adopts what it describes as a “flexible, practical realism” that evaluates threats based on their severity and direct impact on US interests.
The document stresses that the United States does not seek to solve all the world’s problems, nor does it equate threats abroad with threats to the American homeland. It explicitly rejects the idea that implanting America’s way of life by force is necessary, saying the military will focus on “the missions that matter most for Americans’ security, freedom, and prosperity.”
At the same time, the strategy warns that peace cannot be secured through restraint alone. “Wishing for a decent peace is not the same thing as bringing it about,” it says, adding that if peaceful overtures are rejected, America’s armed forces “will stand ready to fight and win the nation’s wars in ways that make sense for Americans.”
Military strength, the strategy argues, is essential to credible diplomacy. It says the Joint Force must be prepared to deter adversaries and, if necessary, prevail against the most dangerous threats to US interests. By ensuring that the military remains “second to none,” the document says the President will retain the flexibility to employ force decisively when required.
The strategy links peace through strength to deterrence, stating that potential adversaries are less likely to challenge US interests when confronted with clear military capability and resolve. This, it says, is how the United States intends to set conditions for lasting peace at home and abroad.
The document also makes clear that this approach does not amount to retreat or isolation. “Ours is not a strategy of isolation,” it states, describing a model of focused engagement abroad guided by clear priorities and an honest assessment of available resources.
Central to the doctrine is an insistence that American interests come first. The strategy calls for being “clear-eyed about the threats that we face” and honest with allies and partners about the need for them to do more in their own defence, not as a favor to Washington but in their own interests.(Agency)
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