The U. S. Intelligence Community and the Fight against ISIS: Donald Trump Administration's National Security Policy

Abstract

Fight against international terrorism remains one of the keystones of the United States’ foreign policy in the upcoming period. The threat of the Islamic State is still grave for the international security, so it is understandable that Donald Trump administration will remain in this course. In the presentation of the new administration’s program at the White House website, it is pointed out that “defeating ISIS and other radical Islamic terror groups” will be of the highest priority, and that joint and coalition efforts will be needed. In the inaugural address, the new President stated that the United States intent to “unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism”. It is initially obvious that, differing from the notion of “fight against violent extremism” used by the Obama administration, the new administration talks about the fight against radical Islamism. In this paper, the authors will analyze and present the key shifts in the United States’ national security policy in the wake of the Donald Trump’s administration. Key positions of Trump’s presidential campaign regarding the foreign policy, national security policy, fight against the Islamic State, and the reform of the Intelligence Community, will be juxtaposed with decisions made during the beginning of the presidential term.