Regardless of when the American‑Israeli war on Iran ends, a question will arise about the viability of the United States being the world’s policeman, and whether military power alone can be a tool of foreign policy.

President Donald Trump adopts the approach of "peace through strength." He manifests this on the ground with the ongoing war in the Middle East, prior to which he seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last January, and through strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, in addition to sporadic American raids on the "ISIS" organization in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, and Somalia.

When Trump talks about Iran and destroying its military, intelligence, and security capabilities, he doesn’t forget to mention that Cuba is on the verge of surrendering to American conditions, thus completing the circle of American influence in the Western Hemisphere, as it now occurs in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Trump has begun to alarm both allies and adversaries. There is an entrenchment of the use of force in foreign policy, accompanied by a clear absence of diplomacy. This absence has persisted since the American president, especially in his second term, relied on friends like Steve Witkoff, Tom Barrack, and Massad Boulos to negotiate international crises and issues from Gaza to Ukraine, Iran, and Sudan. Trump also depends on his son-in-law Jared Kushner for mediation with other countries.

Under Marco Rubio’s administration of the State Department, more than 1,300 employees were dismissed last July in a large-scale layoff of experts, particularly those specializing in Middle Eastern affairs. There are more than 80 vacant positions in American embassies around the world.

Reducing reliance on experienced diplomats has contributed to miscalculations in major decisions. Among these is the failure to consider that Iran might respond to the war by closing the Strait of Hormuz or attacking civilian infrastructure in the Gulf Arab states, even though these states are not participating in the war and have stated that they will not allow America to use their lands or airspace to attack Iran.

Trump always boasts that the American military is the strongest in the world and that the tasks it performs cannot be undertaken by any other military. While this is largely true, is it right, in the long term, for the United States to rely on force in its foreign policy and in resolving international crises?

The American writer Fareed Zakaria warns Trump’s administration against falling into the ‘imperial trap,’ where great powers are drawn into costly regional conflicts that drain their energy and distract them from more important strategic challenges. He cites Britain as an example, which declined from being the strongest military and economic power in the 19th century to its current state due to its preoccupation with high-cost global conflicts.

When America loses the support of its allies and partners around the world, many questions and doubts arise about the viability of such a policy for the United States’ international standing, at a time when competition with China is intensifying.

It is well known that America built much of its economic and military strength through alliances with European and Asian countries after World War II. Soft power has played a significant role in cementing American influence across many regions of the world.

Trump put all this behind him when he declared that other countries had been exploiting the United States, and that the American people elected him for a second term to correct the wrong policies of his predecessors.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Annahar.