Think from KERA U.S. defense strategy from Washington to Trump
Jan 30, 2026
Michael O'Hanlon, Brookings policy analyst and author on U.S. defense history, offers a compact tour of American military strategy from the Revolution to the modern era. He traces early naval fights, 19th-century expansion, the rise of global naval power, WWII’s transformation, Cold War shifts, and contemporary dilemmas about Russia, China, and when the U.S. should act.
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Early Naval Rebuild Against Pirates
- The 1790s saw renewed naval investment to protect commerce from Barbary pirates and French-enabled attacks.
- O'Hanlon describes building six frigates and finishing them when France threatened American shipping.
Peacetime vs Wartime Strategy Record
- O'Hanlon identifies many discrete U.S. defense strategies and finds peacetime strategies often prepared the nation well.
- He judges wartime strategies as a mixed record, with about a third failing or needing change.
Navy Rise Before Teddy Roosevelt
- Late 19th-century industrial growth, Mahan's book, and presidential actions drove the U.S. to build a world-class navy.
- O'Hanlon links the naval build-up across administrations before Theodore Roosevelt to that broader shift.



