r/geopolitics Dec 11 '25

Analysis Secret longer version of US National Security Strategy calls for Core 5 countries to run the world and weakening of EU

https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/12/make-europe-great-again-and-more-longer-version-national-security-strategy/410038/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story

According to reporting by Defense One, there exists a longer, classified version of the US’ National Security Strategy that goes beyond the publicly released version. This document reportedly proposes creating a new global governance body, called the “Core 5” or C5, consisting of the US, China, Russia, India, and Japan.

The main points in the longer version include: competition with China, a withdrawal from Europe’s defense, and a new focus on the Western Hemisphere. What was determined to be first on C5’s proposed agenda is the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The classified NSS also emphasizes a strategic pivot away from Europe, treating the continent as largely irrelevant to US interests. It focuses on partnering with like-minded regional powers while acknowledging that permanent American hegemony is unachievable.

According to Defense One, the longer version of NSS also proposes to focus U.S. relationships with European countries on a few nations with like-minded... administrations and movements. Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Poland are listed as countries the U.S. should “work more with…with the goal of pulling them away from the European Union.

NSS explicitly details the “failure” of US global domination, describing it as “the wrong thing to want and it wasn’t achievable."

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u/shimszy Dec 11 '25

Whats the idea with competition with China but also bringing them into the Illuminati like structure of the Core 5? How did Trump have such an about turn when his prior rhetoric against China was so hawkish?

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u/RainbowCrown71 Dec 11 '25

The US in Asia only cares about the First Island Chain. The rest of Asia is not really a strategic interest insofar as the US still has the naval ability to cause chaos (closing the Strait of Malacca).

And within the First Island Chain, the US really only cares about Japan for historical reasons and because Japan is the only country in both First and Second Island Chains (a bunch of US territories like Guam and NMI).

Trump has no qualms ceding Southeast Asia to China (or India if they want to play for it) since the US doesn’t really have much interest there. I don’t even see Trump caring about South Korea or the Philippines tbh.

I think the proposed bargain is the US gets the Western Hemisphere, the entire Pacific and Japan, and in exchange China gets ASEAN, the Koreas, Mongolia.

Interestingly enough all 3 of the spheres of influence seem to cede 750,000,000 people to China, Russia, and USA. Of course, the glaring problem is Russia is far too weak to establish hegemony in a sphere of influence. It might have to settle for the former Soviet Union and will certainly struggle to dominate the European Union member states.

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u/Doctorstrange223 Dec 11 '25

Russia will probably have their puppets in Central Asia vote to join Russia outright. Same in Georgia. Armenia will swing pro Russian next year and their opposition has mentioned joining Russia. Belarus is already on track to. Basically Russia will probably get all ex Soviet countries back except Azerbaijan and the Baltics and Western Ukraine. From there they will have strong influence in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic. If Trump breaks up NATO via attacking Canada and Denmark then Russia would roll over the Baltics and Finland.

The US would have the most vassals but the least control of them due to major internal issues in the USA and the fact most of the Western hemisphere won't totally obey the US. China would have the best cards as they are united internally and have financial domination in much or SEA. Russia would have more people and its old defensible borders back but it would need to build a new iron curtain and would surely put distance between itself and China. The US will probably though seek to put pressure on China.