Course Details

The newly reelected Trump Administration will face multiple interconnected national security challenges originating from Eurasia. The first challenge is to devise and implement a negotiated end to the ongoing  Russo-Ukrainian War. The process and outcome of this attempt at “peacemaking” will likely have a profound effect on the future of the Atlantic Alliance.  Will Putin accept a war outcome that does not meet his demand of the total defeat of Ukraine? To the south, the greater Middle East is wracked with conflict. Hamas's strike against Israel on October 7, 2023, ignited a wider regional war. Israel responded with a brutal but successful war of retribution and decapitation of Hamas and Hezbollah leadership. These conflicts escalated to a series of air and missile campaigns between Israel and Iran. The Syrian civil war has been reignited with Salafist Jihadi forces supported by Turkiye retaking Aleppo. How will the Trump administration address these pressing issues while attempting to revive the nascent strategic rapprochement between Israeli and the key Arab states that include Saudi Arabia? To the east, the Trump administration will have to decide whether to launch a trade war with China or begin a protracted negotiation about the security order in the Indo-Pacific region.  Also, increased robotization of all dimensions of offensive and defensive warfare and the perfection of long-range reconnaissance strikes adds complexity.  What are the implications for US defense plans and programs? This study group has a high class size capacity.