Former Trump National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien stated that if Trump successfully returns to the White House, the United States should sever its economic ties with China, consider deploying all members of the US Marine Corps to Asia, and resume live nuclear weapons testing to counter the threats posed by China and Russia.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday (June 17), O’Brien is set to publish an article in Foreign Affairs magazine detailing his broad recommendations for Trump’s foreign policy.
Speculations suggest that if Trump returns to office, O’Brien is likely to be appointed to a key position in the Trump administration, making his outlines for foreign policy particularly intriguing.
The article, titled “The Return of Peace Through Strength: Making the Case for Trump’s Foreign Policy,” with a length exceeding 5,000 words, argues that Trump’s proposal to impose a 60% tariff on China should only be the first step. O’Brien suggests implementing stricter export controls on “any technology that could be useful to China (the CCP)” and taking other measures.
O’Brien wrote, “The United States has sunk into a quagmire of weakness and failure and urgently needs Trump to restore peace through strength.”
Known for his hawkish stance on China, O’Brien played a key role in shaping the Trump administration’s tough China policy in its later stages. However, the policy recommendations he presented in the article go far beyond his previous positions.
In the article, O’Brien stated, “When China (the CCP) attempts to weaken America’s economic and military strength, Washington should take countermeasures.”
“In fact, Washington should seek to decouple the US economy from China,” he said.
It is currently uncertain whether Trump will accept O’Brien’s policy recommendations outlined in the article, especially considering the significant impact such policies would have on the United States and the world.
However, O’Brien recently stated that he maintains “regular contact” with Trump, and in the past few months, has been more frequently appearing in public, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and criticizing President Biden for what he perceives as an inadequate response to attacks on US troops in the Middle East.
Christian Whiton, a former State Department advisor under Presidents George W. Bush and Trump who assisted O’Brien in writing the article, revealed to Bloomberg that O’Brien had provided a copy of the article to Trump’s campaign advisor Susie Wiles, and Trump did indeed receive the article.
In the article, O’Brien also advocates for the United States to help expand the military capabilities of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, increase military assistance to Taiwan, and strengthen missile defense and fighter protection in the Indo-Pacific region.
He called for a comprehensive restructuring of U.S. military forces, suggesting deploying all 177,000 Marines to the Pacific region, “especially relieving them from missions in the Middle East and North Africa.”
He also believes that the US should strengthen its nuclear arsenal and resume underground nuclear testing. He argues that if China and Russia continue to refuse genuine arms control negotiations, the US should resume the production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239.
Trump had previously expressed his desire to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. O’Brien wrote in the article that Trump has “clearly stated that he wants to resolve the war through negotiations, end the bloodshed, and safeguard Ukraine’s security.”
He wrote that Trump’s approach “will involve continuing to provide lethal aid to Ukraine funded by European countries, maintaining open diplomatic channels with Russia, and disrupting Moscow’s plans with a certain level of unpredictability.”
O’Brien did not mention the withdrawal from NATO. In fact, he stated that Trump had requested European governments to invest more in defense, making the NATO alliance stronger.
He called on NATO to rotate ground and air forces to Poland to enhance capabilities near the Russian border, stating unequivocally that “NATO will defend all its territories from foreign aggression.”
O’Brien also questioned the Pentagon’s procurement policies, advocating for procurement from more flexible new defense suppliers rooted in innovative technology fields to avoid costly and unnecessary projects.
(Reference: Bloomberg)