Trump’s Grand Strategy: What Is America’s Center Of Gravity?

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Clausewitz and U.S. center of gravity: A look at the Trump national security strategy (NSS) and Trump’s national defense strategy (NSD) together. For Clausewitz, power does not rest everywhere at once. It concentrates. It binds. And when it fractures, the state weakens from within.

From that perspective, the greatest danger for the U.S. is not external aggression but internal misalignment. The NSS and NDS each grasp part of the center of gravity, but neither fully integrates them.

The community of interest among allies, the legitimacy of leadership at home, and the credibility of military power abroad must reinforce one another. If they drift apart, the center of gravity fractures.

Adversaries operating in the gray zone understand this. They target narratives, elections, alliance debates, and burden-sharing disputes. They aim not at American tanks or ships, but at American confidence in itself and in its partners.

Clausewitz would recognize this as our enemies’ indirect strategy aimed squarely at the U.S. center of gravity.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

THE PDB – not the President’s Daily Briefing, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF:    

HOMELAND DEFENSE

How can Congress move the “Golden Dome” forward? A futuristic missile defense shield that would protect our homeland is a massive project. How are its supporters in Congress trying to make it real?

Golden Dome’s cyber protection must be a design choice, not an afterthought. Last year, in the Las Vegas desert, teams of hackers attacked and took control of a simulated government satellite. Operators were locked out as hackers seized functional control and redirected the payload in real time.

HOMELAND SECURITY

The National Transportation Safety Board said “systemic failures” by multiple agencies, including the FAA and the Army, led to a mid-air collision last year between a UH-60 Blackhawk and a passenger jet over Washington, D.C.

DEFENSE POLITICS

A deal to increase and accelerate production of the Air Force’s B-21 bomber could be reached by March. But a looming government shutdown could hinder talks.

US POWER OVERSEAS

Coast Guard dispatched its most powerful ship and heaviest icebreaker to help set free an Australian-owned cruise ship that was wedged in ice in Antarctica.

Air Force’s new electronic warfare jammer aircraft makes European debut in ‘road show’ as the jet was observed in European skies.

Top Pentagon official discussed strengthening U.S.-Japan military alliance with Japanese counterpart in Tokyo as Washington continues to put pressure on allies in Asia to ramp up defense spending and ease burden on U.S. military.

GREENLAND CRISIS

The removal of flags commemorating fallen Danish veterans who fought in Afghanistan by staff at the U.S. embassy in the country’s capital caused public outcry and was replaced later with different ones by U.S. staff. But original flags had recently been placed outside the embassy by Danes without coordinating with the embassy.

IRAN THREAT

With Trump touting a “massive armada” of ships heading to the Middle East amid growing tensions with Iran, more assets continue to pour into the region, including a destroyer and an electronic surveillance jet.

Is the U.S. preparing to strike Iran again?

Trump’s armada: the U.S. military force assembled against Iran.

Key Gulf allies say they won’t aid the U.S. in an Iran strike, potentially limiting Trump’s options. Saudi Arabia and the UAE say the U.S. can’t use their airspace for a military operation against Tehran.

MIDDLE EAST THREATS

Gaza and the conduct of urban war: Civilian harm, risk and responsibility. Urban warfare is often invoked as an alibi: dense terrain, an embedded enemy, human shields, imperfect intelligence. These conditions are real, but they do not, on their own, explain outcomes.

CHINA THREAT

China’s military strategy for future conflicts has evolved into “national total war,” a whole-of-nation mobilization effort aimed squarely at overcoming “the strong enemy” it sees in the United States. This, as the country’s leaders eye Taiwan and other regional ambitions.

U.S. destroyer drills with Philippine forces near China-contested Scarborough Shoal for joint patrol following the recent departure of Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group from the Western Pacific.

RUSSIA THREAT/UKRAINE WAR

Kremlin’s War Machine Set to Hit the Brakes Under Tighter Budget.

Russia Oil and Gas Revenue Dives to Five-Year Low in Budget Hit.

But, Russian defense spending overtakes Europe, study finds.

Ukraine says drones now account for more than 80% of enemy targets destroyed in nearly five-year war, with most drones manufactured locally.

EUROPEAN DEFENSE

The Italian army has taken delivery of four Lynx fighting vehicles from Rheinmetall, the first batch in a massive, planned order of 1,050 vehicles that will transform the Italian army.

A torpedo-hunting torpedo? Meet the ‘SeaSpider.’ To protect ships at sea, a German defense company is developing rocket-powered anti-torpedo torpedoes.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

North Korea fired four missiles from an improved version of a large-caliber multiple rocket launcher in a test overseen by dictator Kim Jong Un.

SPACE THREATS

Space Force is positioning its Space Warfighter Operational Readiness Domain, or SWORD, as a cornerstone for maintaining space superiority.

Space Command will, for the first time, invite representatives from commercial space companies to take part in classified wargames focused on sensitive national security scenarios, underscoring increased integration between military and commercial space infrastructure.

Space Command’s case for orbital logistics: Why Pentagon is being urged to think beyond launch. For decades, it has treated launch as the central logistical problem of military space. Once a satellite reaches orbit, it is expected to operate with the fuel it carries from Earth until it fails or runs dry. That is no longer sufficient for a now contested and potentially hostile domain.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

After naval drills with Iran, South Africa faces new U.S. attacks. The exercises were the second time in six months that President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared blindsided by his own military regarding relations with Tehran.

US MILITARY

The senior uniformed Navy leader, CNO, says the service needs to operate as though it’s actually at war to advance its priorities. Plus, details of the Trump-class battleships.

The Army now has a new enlisted career specialty focused entirely on space operations, a role that had relied on soldiers temporarily assigned from other branches.

Air Force Basic Military Training is continuing its transformation to become more realistic, with plans to build two training ranges with mock runways and real aircraft this year at select bases.

END of PDB

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