As Donald Trump embarked on his second term as US President, he pledged a renewed commitment to an "America First" doctrine, promising to avoid foreign entanglements. Yet, his first twelve months back in the Oval Office have been marked by a strikingly aggressive foreign policy, featuring military strikes across multiple continents, the seizure of assets, and the dramatic capture of a foreign leader.
A Doctrine of Disruption: From Rhetoric to Raids
Despite a National Security Strategy that vowed US concern only when other nations' activities "directly threaten our interests," President Trump has authorised a sweeping series of interventions. This has included green-lighting military action in at least seven countries, overseeing the shock extradition of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and repeatedly threatening the annexation of allied territories.
"The larger picture of Trump's foreign policy is one of transactional disruption rather than strategic leadership," Aurélien Colson, academic director at the ESSEC Business School Institute for Geopolitics & Business, told The Independent. He argues that Trump's actions are driven by "a mix of narcissistic posturing, domestic political signalling, and personal financial interests" rather than coherent geopolitical goals.
Colson warns that the outcome is increasingly "'America Isolated': mistrusted by partners and progressively less able to shape the rules of the international system it once led."
Mapping the Military Campaigns
The scope of military action has been broad. In Somalia, the US launched 135 strikes targeting ISIS and al-Shabab, a figure surpassing the combined totals of the Bush Jr, Obama, and Biden administrations. Alongside this, Trump has verbally attacked Somali immigrants in the US as "garbage."
In Iraq Yemen saw a massive bombardment of Houthi rebels in retaliation for Red Sea ship attacks, with over 1,100 US strikes reported in a 52-day campaign costing more than $1 billion. Despite this, Houthi attacks resumed months later. The most significant escalation came with Iran. Following Israeli airstrikes on nuclear facilities in June 2025, the US intervened directly, bombing sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. A ceasefire was quickly agreed, but tensions flared again in January 2026 amid regime crackdowns on protesters. The most audacious operation was in Venezuela. After months of attacking "narco-terrorist boats" and stationing thousands of troops nearby, US special forces raided Caracas on 3 January 2026 in Operation Absolute Resolve. President Nicolás Maduro was captured, extradited to New York to face charges, and the US took over global sales of Venezuelan crude oil. Further strikes were launched in Syria following the killing of US personnel, and in Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025, which Trump said were to protect Christians from ISIS. Beyond direct military action, Trump's threats have stirred diplomatic crises. His persistent campaign to purchase Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, has caused profound alarm in Europe. He has refused to rule out military action, arguing it is vital for US national security, leading to European troop deployments to the region and threats of tariffs. Closer to home, Trump has teased the annexation of Canada, calling for it to become the "51st state," and threatened economic force unless it increases military spending. He has also warned Mexico over cartels and migrants, and singled out the leaders of Colombia and Cuba as potential future targets following the Venezuela operation. This pattern of confrontation, experts suggest, points to a presidency seeking a world where "power is personalised, deals are opaque, and loyalty matters more than rules" – with profound consequences for the global order and America's place within it.Future Flashpoints: Greenland, NATO, and the Neighbourhood
