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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INSIGHT

Ambition Defines U.S. Strategy

  • Theodore Roosevelt's phrase 'dare mighty things' captures the persistent American ambition in defense and foreign policy.
  • Michael O'Hanlon argues that ambition has driven major successes and notable ethical failures across U.S. history.
ANECDOTE

U.S.-Mexico War As National Example

  • O'Hanlon uses the U.S.-Mexico War and manifest destiny to illustrate early American expansionism.
  • He presents the 1846–1848 war as a near-unanimous expression of national purpose and energy.
INSIGHT

Washington's Adaptive Warfare

  • George Washington adapted U.S. military strategy from conventional set-piece battles to counterpunch and guerrilla-like tactics.
  • That strategic flexibility was crucial to eventual victory in the Revolutionary War.
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