"It is worth reading the most recent NSS in its entirety. It is less polished than its predecessor, betrays little evidence of consultation, and is considerably shorter (33 as against 70 pages). It reads like time had run out and a deadline had been reached. It ends abruptly with a short discussion on Africa, this administration's least important region, without a proper conclusion."
"The first draft has been attributed to Michael Anton, who was the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department until September 2025, when he left. It may be that Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff who represents the hardest line MAGA views, completed the document or at least oversaw its completion. This perhaps explains why, as Gideon Rachman notes, when restating standard policy positions, for example on Taiwan, the prose is 'dutiful' - 'one senses that the author's heart is not in it.'"
The National Security Strategy is 33 pages, down from 70, and is less polished with little evidence of consultation. The NSS reads as if it was completed under time pressure and ends abruptly with a short discussion of Africa and no formal conclusion. The NSS was released quietly in the early hours without a press conference. The first draft is attributed to Michael Anton, and Stephen Miller may have finished or overseen its completion, introducing hardline MAGA influence. Standard policy passages feel dutiful and unenthusiastic, while civilizational rhetoric and praise for Trump are animated. The NSS attempts to unify disparate policies on DEI, climate, and immigration into an international rationale.
Read at emptywheel
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