بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The current Trump administration adopted a new security strategy early this year, rearranging its priorities and highlighting the most important elements: beginning with the defense of America itself and its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere, moving to the deterrence of China and the obstruction of its development, and ending with pushing allies, followers, and affiliates to take responsibility for defending their own countries—with America providing only limited vital support.
For example, Europe is now required to take responsibility for its own defense by increasing military spending to 3.5% of GDP, plus an additional 1.5% for security spending, bringing the total to 5% for defense and security.
In the Middle East, America is encouraging major regional powers to undertake regional security maintenance under its direction. The practical translation of this is the Mecca Pact, which President Trump welcomed. Similarly, the Jewish entity is participating with America in deterring Iran and its proxies and combating what America terms “extremism” in the region.
In line with this new American strategy—and harmonizing with it—are the statements of Tom Barrack, America’s envoy to Syria, Türkiye, and the countries of the Middle East, delivered at the World Security Forum held in Doha on October 20, 2026. There, he confirmed the decline of America’s role as a security guarantor in the Middle East, stating very clearly that In the region, everybody is saying if we have America and we are selling oil and gas in dollars and we buy weapons in dollars and we have bases of Americans… we are going to have free seas, and we are going to have a security guaranty. All of a sudden, that doesn’t happen... Everybody's got to be on their own regional alliances.” This means America no longer offers any comprehensive guarantees to any country and now relies on its allies and followers to carry out the task of local and regional defense.
The war in Yemen demonstrated this political reality: when Bin Salman asked Trump for America’s comprehensive support for his country, Trump replied that Saudi Arabia is a strong nation capable of defending itself, and that America would not engage in any battles in its defense—it could only provide logistical support.
Even with Iran, America’s heightened military rhetoric is merely propagandistic media posturing, as Tom Barrack stated that his boss Trump is vigorously seeking to reach a peace agreement with Iran through Qatari mediation efforts.
Barrack stated at the forum with frankness and without equivocation that the United States is no longer the security guarantor for regions anywhere in the world, stating, “America as the guarantor to the world, for the last 80 years, it is no longer there.”
Although he made it clear that America does not wish to withdraw from leading political affairs globally—meaning it will continue to supervise major events and guide the world from behind, but without bearing the costs—this model of “leadership from behind” without assuming financial burdens will not succeed in the long run in controlling the course of international events. Rather, America will gradually lose its influence due to its failure to provide comprehensive security guarantees as it did in the past.
The world does not follow those who do not pay and fund, nor does it submit to those who do not lead the battle themselves, nor does it listen to those who do not issue instructions and orders directly. Domination necessitates expenditure, and whoever delegates spending to others loses his dominance—even if gradually—for a proxy war is fundamentally different from one waged by the principal actor itself.
Major powers realized early on that America was stepping back from global leadership due to its unwillingness to bear the costs of providing international security guarantees. Former British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasized on 6 July 2026 the idea of joint European and international cooperation to stabilize the global order, uphold the international system and shared rules, and defend the sovereignty of international law in the face of unilateral tendencies. In other words, she recognized the shift in the international situation and America’s retreat from global leadership, stating: “As the old world order is remade, we must build our sovereign strengths and put them to work… the challenges we face are set to grow. Meeting them will require action… we need to go much further to build Britain’s sovereign strength and resilience. Delivering modern capabilities and more investment for our armed forces is essential both for our sovereign defence and to maintain our influence and leadership in Europe and the NATO alliance that is the cornerstone of our security. That is why the Defence Investment Plan is vital, and we will need next to quickly establish a clear pathway towards delivering 3% of GDP in defence.”
By “old world order,” she meant those that previously relied on America bearing the burden of global security guarantees alone, or with secondary assistance from its allies.
America’s withdrawal from global leadership in a direct manner—by abandoning its most crucial element, namely security guarantees—will undoubtedly create new opportunities that could liberate the world’s nations from American colonialist hegemony. It will grant them a significant degree of independence, open new doors for international competition, and particularly enable the Islamic Ummah to assume its place more easily in the new global landscape—especially if it succeeds in establishing a genuine Islamic state that truly represents it and applies Islam as an ideology from which a system of life emanates.