{"id":2570043,"date":"2026-02-14T18:34:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T23:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-policy-chief-rejects-us-as-great-empire-in-munich\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T18:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T23:37:04","slug":"pentagon-policy-chief-rejects-us-as-great-empire-in-munich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-policy-chief-rejects-us-as-great-empire-in-munich\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon policy chief rejects US as &#8216;great empire&#8217; in Munich"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpentagon-policy-chief-rejects-us-as-great-empire-in-munich%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570043&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon\u2019s policy chief, presented a pragmatic \u201cstability model\u201d at the Munich Security Conference, saying the United States does not seek to boss other nations or create a global empire. Instead, Washington should pursue a favorable balance of power that allows countries to chart thier own futures, while increasing deterrence through a stronger U.S.military and urging allies to do more in defense spending and regional security. He outlined NATO 3.0 as a retooled framework to reflect changing geopolitics and argued that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">foreign policy<\/a> should resemble a practical, business-like operation where partners share duty and resources.<\/p>\n<p>The piece also notes concerns among longstanding allies that the U.S. is stepping back from global leadership and adopting a more transactional stance. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Europe to reduce excessive dependence on the U.S. and build a robust, self-sustaining European pillar, calling for renewed trans-Atlantic trust. Secretary of state Marco Rubio sought to reassure NATO members while insisting the United States will not be Europe\u2019s \u201cpolite and orderly caretakers.\u201d the discussion underscored a push for a more predictable, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >allied-driven security order<\/a> that emphasizes deterrence, practical planning, and mutual obligation, with debates continuing over defense spending and how best to balance American leadership with European initiative.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Pentagon policy chief rejects US as &lsquo;great empire&rsquo; in Munich push for &lsquo;stability model&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2502279\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Undersecretary of War for Policy <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elbridge-colby\/\">Elbridge Colby<\/a> said the United States is not looking to &ldquo;boss&rdquo; other nations around, and is instead pressing ahead with a more &ldquo;realistic&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/policy\/foreign-policy\/\">foreign policy<\/a> agenda.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not looking to boss everybody around. We&rsquo;re not looking to become this great empire of the world. We&rsquo;re saying we want to have a favorable balance of power where countries can chart their own future,&rdquo; he said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4457677\/south-latin-american-countries-bend-to-trump-curb-support-cuba\/\">South and Latin American countries bend to Trump in moves to curb support for Cuba<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4458056\/europe-rubio-remarks-munich-vance-fiery-address\/\">Europe braces for Rubio remarks in Munich after Vance&#8217;s fiery address<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4458340\/trump-irrefutable-legal-argument-require-voter-id-congress\/\">Trump vows to present &lsquo;irrefutable&rsquo; legal argument to require voter ID without Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The &ldquo;America First&rdquo; strategy is one of &ldquo;common sense,&rdquo; Colby contended, saying the pragmatic vision extends to countries such as China, which the administration is &ldquo;looking at in a clear-eyed way, with the goal of a favorable balance of power and stability.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not communists in the Trump administration,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s also not our job to say what the government of China is.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Colby pushed for a &ldquo;stability model,&rdquo; where the U.S. ups its military as a deterrence and allies take ownership in respective regions, including by stepping up defense spending and incentivizing foes against forming alliances countering NATO. It&rsquo;s similar to the foreign policy philosophy Colby espoused when he unveiled the U.S. vision for a &ldquo;NATO 3.0&Prime; to replace &ldquo;NATO 2.0&rdquo; in response to changing world dynamics <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4456052\/elbridge-colby-nato-3-defense-summit\/\">earlier this week<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&#8203;&#8203;We&rsquo;re saying, let&rsquo;s all be in a place where we&rsquo;ve got a good buffer of assurance,&rdquo; Colby said. &ldquo;And of course, the Americans are going to be everywhere, but we&rsquo;re going to be doing it in a way that&rsquo;s linked to practical military planning. And then the other side, or whatever, those other powers are all going to see that, and they&rsquo;re going to say, &lsquo;Today&rsquo;s not the day. I&rsquo;m better off going with that stability model that we&rsquo;re all about, where it&rsquo;s better to keep jaw-jawing, rather than more warring.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Colby said he sees foreign policy similar to running a business, with partners expected to pull their weight in operations and funding. He praised European leaders for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-ukraine-crisis-is-a-wake-up-call-for-taiwan-and-japan\/\" title=\"The Ukraine Crisis Is A Wake-up Call For Taiwan And Japan\">increasing defense spending<\/a> in recent months and expressed optimism at what he&rsquo;s hearing from NATO partners at the Munich summit, suggesting &ldquo;momentum&rdquo; is building in the administration&rsquo;s favor. Earlier this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4457224\/friedrich-merz-warns-us-munich-speech\/\">told attendees<\/a> that they need to step up internal partnerships and decrease &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/friedrich-merz-us-not-strong-enough-to-weaken-nato\/\" title=\"Friedrich Merz: US &#039;not strong enough&#039; to weaken NATO\">excessive dependency&#038;rdquo<\/a>; on the U.S., urging them to build a &ldquo;strong, self-supporting European pillar.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Overall, the frame was, I would say, from him, was very much leaning in and saying, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s get down to business. Let&rsquo;s be practical,&rsquo;&rdquo; Colby said of Merz&rsquo;s speech. &ldquo;A practical discussion, almost like a business-like discussion about, all right, how do we make sure that this operation is sustainable over the long term, that everybody&rsquo;s pulling their weight?&rdquo; he added, referencing Treasury Scott Bessent&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/01\/20\/cnbc-transcript-us-treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-speaks-with-cnbcs-joe-kernen-on-squawk-box-from-the-world-economic-forum-in-davos-switzerland-today.html\">recent assertion<\/a> that since 1980 the U.S. has spent $22 trillion more on defense than the rest of NATO.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s sort of a market-to-market element here, which is like, hey, wait a minute. This has been way out of whack. Let&rsquo;s get down to basics,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Longstanding allies have expressed alarm that the U.S. position means it is backing away from the world stage and its alliance with Europe, putting a transactional philosophy above a commitment to democracy. Merz this week called for officials to &ldquo;repair and revive trans-Atlantic trust&rdquo; during his Munich address.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4458495\/navalny-widow-demands-accountability-for-putin\/\"><strong>ALEXEI NAVALNY&rsquo;S WIDOW DEMANDS &lsquo;ACCOUNTABILITY&rsquo; FOR PUTIN AFTER EUROPEAN LEADERS SAY HUSBAND WAS POISONED<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4458424\/rubio-munich-address-tells-europe-we-belong-together\/\">sought to reassure <\/a>NATO members during his own keynote address at the Munich summit, though he continued to assert that the U.S. has no desire to be Europe&rsquo;s &ldquo;polite and orderly caretakers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For us Americans, home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colby: US won&#8217;t boss others; promotes stability<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2570044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26043562577701.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[17921,3761,73824,73825],"class_list":["post-2570043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-munich","tag-pentagon","tag-policy-chief","tag-us-empire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26043562577701.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570043"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570047,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570043\/revisions\/2570047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}