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Jun 2, 2026
Richard Haass
In a world in which the US cannot be counted on as it once was, the objective is not stability at any price, but rather stability on terms consistent with national and Western interests. This is achievable, but only if the friends of the US recognize the new reality and act individually and collectively to meet the challenge.
NEW YORK—US President Donald Trump’s second administration has been clear from the outset that it would recast American foreign policy in fundamental ways. Its National Security Strategy, released last November, declared that “The days of the United States propping up the entire world order like Atlas are over”—a shift that is especially significant for America’s many allies and partners, which have long made dependence on the US the central tenet of their national security.
