Self-Defense, Rather Than Reliance, Is the Price of Sovereignty

The U.S. National Security Strategy is a symptom of change.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz addresses the U.N. Security Council as it meets to vote on a draft resolution to authorize an International Stabilization Force in the Gaza Strip, in New York City on Nov. 17, 2025. Adam Gray/Getty Images

Commentary

Perhaps every international order is born of trauma. In 1945, the world wasn’t trying to design utopia. Two world wars had killed tens of millions of people, leveled cities, and convinced many that industrial-scale war could end civilization itself. The core danger wasn’t merely aggression; it was uncontrolled escalation.