The Impact of the Trump Doctrine on U.S. foreign policy toward Iraq

Abstract

Under the Trump administration, U.S. foreign policy has focused on curbing Iran's influence and the role and maintaining counter-terrorism operations in Iraq. President Trump's focus in Iraq has been through smart power, an approach that stresses the need for a robust military presence and invests in political relationships to expand influence and establish its legitimacy. Trump's focus is pursuing U.S. interests in Iraq while curbing Iran, which, in the Trump administration's perspective, is counter to the previous administration's actions of engagement by the Bush administration and disengagement by the Obama administration that deteriorated U.S. interests in Iraq at the expense of the United States. At its core, Trump's policies can be defined as Transactional Realism. Therefore, it can be argued that, despite focusing on U.S. troop withdrawal, Trump will maintain U.S. involvement in Iraq and contain and deter threats to U.S. interests in Iraq.