For many of us working in the national security field, the notion of America as the ‘bright shining city on the hill’ was a driving force. America was the good guy, it inspired people and movements globally to follow its lead. Did it stray from these principles at times? Of course. It was never perfect. But, writing as a former CIA case officer who recruited agents to spy for the US against their authoritarian governments, ideology was always a prime motivating factor in gaining someone’s agreement to betray their governments. America and all we stood for mattered. I saw agents who risked their lives not for money, but for a hope for a better future for their children who lived in corrupt and broken societies. As my former CIA colleague John Sipher has written, the best Russian agents in fact were motivated to spy for the US by their intense hatred of the Russian system. American democracy meant something to them.

Those days are apparently coming to a close. We have returned perhaps to an era of American imperialism, where US economic interests are paramount, and the Reagan-era notions of the beauty and power of economic freedom and political liberalism are relics of the past.

I was on TV during the immediate aftermath of the brilliant US military raid to capture former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. After describing the incredible fusion of the intelligence community and the US military, a true masterclass in executing high-value target operations, we moved on to strategic issues. One anchor asked me what we were actually doing, big picture. I responded quite clearly: ‘It seems to be all about oil.’ I regretted this almost immediately, as I sounded like a college professor providing a leftist critique of US foreign policy. A close friend even joked with me later: ‘My God, you sound like a Marxist.’ Yet, within hours, during what can only be described as a bizarre and rambling press conference, President Trump echoed the precise explanation I had offered only hours earlier. It was indeed all about the oil. He did not hide it. And he has followed up on a daily basis, stressing that oil was paramount in his mind. There was nary a reference to the importance of a democratic transition in Caracas, or the legitimacy of the Venezuelan opposition. Rather, Trump trashed the Nobel Prize-winner and Venezuelan opposition leader Machado as essentially not ready for primetime. Quite shockingly, the Maduro regime – without Maduro at the helm – may actually endure.

Where does this leave the US? First, it risks becoming an international pariah. Is it feared? Perhaps. Its military and intelligence community are second to none, with global reach and capabilities that are unmatched even by its key adversaries. Is it respected? Well, not really. Not when it has strayed from the ideals and values that actually did ‘make America great’. And is it hated more than ever? Absolutely. Opinion polls consistently show a diminishing support for the US, particularly in Europe, home to its closest allies. The talk of taking Greenland by force, even if this was just Trump’s wildly irresponsible rhetoric, was incredibly damaging to the NATO alliance. Travelling in Europe this last week, I received an earful from those in European policy circles who feel an awful sense of betrayal.

To those of us in the diplomatic, intelligence and military fields who were the tip of the spear and spent time living outside of the US, these are particularly dark times. We saw long lines at US consulates all around the world composed of people fleeing for a better future in America, and we were inspired by those that saw America as a country of good. Yet those times are in the rearview mirror. We no longer welcome immigrants. We don’t project our values. Instead, gunboat diplomacy, bullying our allies, astonishingly naked imperialism, standing for nothing ideologically other than pure economic interests, that is the US national security strategy in 2026. The era of American exceptionalism is on life support.

All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the US Government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as assessing or implying US Government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views.