--- title: Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Doctrine: Hawkish Isolationism description: President Donald Trump waffled over military strategy against ISIS during his visit to Iraq – a reflection of his own chaotic style of leadership. canonical: https://time.com/5489044/donald-trump-iraq-hawkish-isolationism/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-27T13:26:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:50:22.887Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Doctrine: Hawkish Isolationism og:description: Trump's waffling over strategy is partly a reflection of his own chaotic style of leadership og:url: https://time.com/5489044/donald-trump-iraq-hawkish-isolationism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02aefb6eced4cacb/6989424c457a5218e6d6037a/donald-trump-speaking-surprise-iraq-visit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5472 og:image:height: 3078 og:image:alt: donald-trump-speaking-surprise-iraq-visit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Doctrine: Hawkish Isolationism twitter:description: Trump's waffling over strategy is partly a reflection of his own chaotic style of leadership twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02aefb6eced4cacb/6989424c457a5218e6d6037a/donald-trump-speaking-surprise-iraq-visit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Showed His Contradictory Foreign Policy Doctrine in Iraq. Call It 'Hawkish Isolationism' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=7449aa48-cfa9-4f73-8a12-d02b74a49b69&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Brian Bennett / Al Asad Air Base, Iraq](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett / Al Asad Air Base, Iraq Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Dec 27, 2018 1:26 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks at a hanger rally at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on Dec. 26, 2018. President Donald Trump speaks at a hanger rally at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, on Dec. 26, 2018. Andrew Harnik—AP/REX/Shutterstock  by [Brian Bennett / Al Asad Air Base, Iraq](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett / Al Asad Air Base, Iraq Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Dec 27, 2018 1:26 PM UTC From inside a dun-colored, domed tent on Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq, President Donald Trump [answered reporter’s questions on Wednesday](http://time.com/5488775/donald-trump-visit-iraq-syria-isis/) in front of senior U.S. military officials, outlining his strategy in the region. The remarks seemed, at times, to have been spoken by two different presidents. Trump began by laying out that he had “no plans at all” to reduce the substantial U.S. presence in Iraq and underscored his willingness to launch more military operations in the future. “We could use this as a base if we wanted to do something in Syria,” the President said. “If – I will say this, if you take ISIS and if we see something happening with ISIS that we don’t like, we can hit them so fast and so hard, they won’t – they really won’t know what the hell happened.” But nearly in the same breath, Trump’s hawkish tone seemed to wilt. “It’s time to get our soldiers out, and it’s time to get our young people out,” Trump said, sitting next to military leaders and advisors. “The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world,” he repeated to reporters, describing a long-term vision of detached isolationism embodied by his controversial decision last week to [pull thousands of U.S. troops from Syria](http://time.com/5484972/donald-trump-syria-withdrawal/) and [Afghanistan](http://time.com/5486418/pentagon-troops-pullout-afghanistan/). Trump’s waffling over strategy in the Middle East is partly a reflection of his own chaotic style of leadership. But it’s also an indication of a deeper contradiction endemic to the Republican foreign policy establishment, which has long attempted to balance the two strands of its DNA: America First isolationism and neocon interventionism. In his first-ever visit to troops in a combat zone, Trump seemed to present a foreign policy doctrine that champions a perhaps untenable middle ground. Call it hawkish isolationism. In some ways, Trump’s embrace of a contradictory position isn’t surprising. Throughout his first two years in office, Trump has made a habit of advancing apparently conflicting stances. Trump’s tax reform bill, which he sold as a boon to the middle class, overwhelmingly benefitted the very wealthy, and despite promising to protect people with preexisting health conditions, Trump’s Justice Department has systematically undermined the health care bill that does just that. In the realm of trade, Trump has repeatedly demanded that China reverse decades of unfair trading practices, while simultaneously undermining international institutions, like the World Trade Organization, designed to curb precisely such abuses. And in U.S. relations with Russia, Trump has resisted senators’ demands to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin and condemn Russian intervention in Ukraine, while succumbing to political pressure to sign sanctions against the nation. The civil war within Trump’s foreign policy played out in real time this week. In Iraq on Wednesday, Trump seemed willing to reengage militarily in Syria, using U.S. forces stationed on Iraqi territory. But less than a week earlier, Trump had embraced a nearly opposite position, issuing a powerful order—against the advice of his top military and civilian advisers—to withdraw more than 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria within 30 days, and 7,000 from Afghanistan. The decision blindsided Congress, terrified U.S. allies on the ground, and led to the abrupt resignations of both [Defense Secretary James Mattis](http://time.com/5486552/james-mattis-resignation-pentagon/) and the top State Department official managing the fight against Islamic State, [Brett McGurk](http://time.com/5487503/brett-mcgurk-resigns-protest-syria/). John Bolton, Trump’s neoconservative national security advisor, who sat a few feet from the President as he spoke in Iraq, had disapproved of the decision. Trump’s visit to Iraq did not clarify his administration’s position in the Middle East so much as underscore his apparently competing desires to both withdraw from the world and to project military power and strength. “The men and women stationed at Al Asad have played a vital role in the military defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Trump said inside a hangar in Iraq, earning cheers from a crowd of uniformed troops gathered to hear his remarks. “Because of these gains, our service members in Syria can now return home to their families,” Trump said. Some troops leaving Syria will come to Al Asad “for a stay,” he added. He described the U.S. victory over ISIS as nearly complete. But, later, aboard Air Force One, White House Press Secretary Sanders suggested that Trump was still planning a pitched fight. The President and military leaders had “come up with a powerful plan,” she told reporters, “that will allow us to continue on a path to total victory.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5489044/donald-trump-iraq-hawkish-isolationism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5489044/donald-trump-iraq-hawkish-isolationism/"},"headline":"President Trump Showed His Contradictory Foreign Policy Doctrine in Iraq. 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