As Republicans look ahead to their birthday party convention in Milwaukee, the unused Donald Trump-style strategy for nationwide security represents a dramatic retirement from GOP life.
Eight years ago, the party had called for a larger military force to fight two major wars simultaneously and demanded tougher sanctions on Russia. Now, the undrafted 2024 GOP platform talks about avoiding war as a result of “wars drive inflation.”
The canonical GOP policy also requires an American-made national missile defense device matching Israel’s Iron Dome — something the military has not sought and which experts say may have limited usefulness to the US.
“Prevent World War III, restore peace in Europe and the Middle East, and build a great Iron Dome missile defense shield over our entire country – all made in America,” about the unused objectives of the 2024 GOP platform birthday party. Tells.
So, where did the idea of the American Iron Dome come from? And does this even make sense?
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Here’s what to understand:
Trump wants ‘the best dome of these’
Iron Dome was developed by Israel to block rocket and mortar fire from the sky – acting as a kind of barricade over a country under almost constant warning of short-range and medium-range missile attacks.
The multi-billion device played a major role in effectively defending Israel in late April when Iran launched nearly 300 missiles and drones at a Jewish community in response to an Israeli airstrike that killed a prominent Iranian commander .
The fate of Iron Dome caught the attention of Trump, who was already touting the theory at campaign rallies that the US could develop its own model of generation, noting that the US had About $3 billion was spent to help develop and maintain the US. Gadget.
Trump’s comments on the US Iron Dome have often drawn boos from his supporters, especially since in 2016 he called for the construction of a wall along the US southern border with Mexico.
Trump said in June, “In my next term, we will build a great Iron Dome over our country, a dome like no other ever seen before, a state-of-the-art missile defense shield that will be made entirely in America.” Rally in Wisconsin because the community applauded.
“We’re going to build the biggest dome of them all,” he promised.
The Army didn’t request Iron Dome, and it wouldn’t provide protection against real warnings anyway.
At the bottom of this, experts say that it does not make much sense for America to copy the Iron Dome gadget. With allies to the north and south and oceans on either side, the US does not face nearly the same short-range missile threat as Israel.
However, what are some nationwide missile defense devices that are similar to Iron Dome but adapted for the US?
According to US defense law, US Northern Command – the Army’s combatant command charged with defending the homeland from foreign missiles – has no longer shown any interest in a national missile defense system.
The military already employs some methods, “which together provide agility in responding to potential threats, increasing the options available to the country’s leaders,” said Wahid, speaking on condition of anonymity.
One of those methods is the Garden-Based Midcourse Defense program, which was designed to shoot down dangerous long-range missiles from a country like North Korea. On the other hand, it may have additional limited usefulness if there were ever a large-scale attack from a country with a large arsenal like Russia.
However, scaling up that equipment to protect every inch of America would likely cost billions of dollars at the pace the country is trying to provide protection against attacks across the cyber and dimension. China and Russia are now using hypersonic guns, former management officials said this spring Russia is trying to size up nuclear facilities, making it significantly more complicated for the US to keep any devices safe Is.
“You cannot defend the entire United States. It is unrealistic, unattainable and impossible,” said General Glenn VanHerck, who retired on this occasion as head of the US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Protection Command.
In return, he said, whoever is in the White House must have a clear policy on protecting U.S. assets beyond critical military infrastructure – something he said he has done throughout his tenure as head of NORTHCOM. Was put pressure on.
“Ultimately, it goes back to policy. What are your priorities? What do you want us to do? And then we can make realistic decisions with the force we have today, and then we can budget and resource for future forces.” Are,” he mentioned.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Florida on July 9, 2024.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Similar to his border wall, Trump’s demand for a US Iron Dome is probably shorthand for something else
Party platforms and campaign rhetoric tend to be more political crowd-pleasers than practical blueprints for running the country.
For example, in 2016, Trump called for building a “big, beautiful” wall on the US southern border with Mexico; When he left the administrative centre, only about one-quarter of the border remained disused – most of which had replaced small existing constructions. Trump’s border wall demands were essentially shorthand for radical immigration policies.
Army analyst Steve Ganyard, a retired Marine Corps colonel and an ABC contributor, said the U.S. seeking Iron Dome almost certainly doesn’t make much sense from a strategic perspective, given the untested warnings from Dimension. What is more remarkable, he said, is what is missing from the report.
For the first time in decades, the party is not seeking more spending for a major war campaign or expanding the US military’s reach globally.
Gainyard noted, “It surprises me how isolationist it is, especially compared to previous Republican platforms.”
For former Trump advisers, refocusing US spending on homeland security is a big factor.
“This is a very strong document that has solid common sense principles that involve U.S. military base construction,” Elbridge Colby, who served as deputy secretary of defense for technology and drives construction during the Trump administration, said. Mentioned GOP platform.
As Colby noted, the platform emphasizes protecting the hometown, “not looking for monsters to destroy.”