WASHINGTON—A draft of President Donald Trump’s new counterterrorism strategy demands that U.S. allies shoulder more of the burden in combating radical Islamic terrorists, while acknowledging that the scourge will never be totally eliminated.
The 11-page draft, seen on Friday by Reuters, said the United States should avoid costly, “open-ended” military commitments.
“We need to intensify operations against global jihadist groups while also reducing the costs of American ‘blood and treasure’ in pursuit of our counterterrorism goals,” states the document, which is expected to be released in coming months.
“We will seek to avoid costly, large-scale U.S. military interventions to achieve counterterrorism objectives and will increasingly look to partners to share the responsibility for countering terrorist groups,” it says.
However, it acknowledges that terrorism “cannot be defeated with any sort of finality.”
A White House spokesman, contacted about the strategy document, did not immediately comment.
When published, it will be the first U.S. blueprint in six years outlining how to combat radical Islamic extremism, a major issue for Trump during the presidential campaign.
The strategy, which officials said was still being fine-tuned at the White House, describes the threat from radical Islamic terrorist groups in stark tones.
It remains to be seen how Trump can square his goal of avoiding military interventions with ongoing conflicts involving U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere.
