Donald Trump will assume office again amid rising tensions in Ukraine and U.S. troop deployments to Israel. This worries many Trump detractors, and the president knows this. “They said, ‘He will start a war,’” Trump said in his victory speech on November 5. “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”

Trump has proposed halting Ukraine’s bid to NATO in exchange for peace and wants to coordinate with Netanyahu for a firm presence in the Middle East. Yet, if the president really wants to stop wars, he should heed George Ball’s wisdom on foreign policy.

Serving as the Under Secretary of State in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, Ball recognized that international peace was paved through caution, not conquest. He championed restraint and strategic alternatives over manpower and ammunition. Yet, he was a minority voice in a room where most pushed the United States to intervene in the disastrous Vietnam War.

While Ball did not don the label of “conservative,” his principles against nation-building and limiting government overreach made him an outcast in the 1960s. These tenets can better orient today’s actions abroad and keep the United States strong without relying on direct military interventions.

Since February 2022, the U.S. government has sent $62 billion in military aid to the Ukrainian government, a portion of the total $183 billion sent. The war in Ukraine has been framed as a defense against Russian aggression—much like South Vietnam against its northern counterpart—and most congressional Democrats and Republicans do not think twice about signing onto the next spending package. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the amount of aid is not about “funding war” but “protecting democracy.”

But Ball taught us to question assumptions about war narratives and not reduce war to ideological struggles. In Vietnam, President Johnson and his “wise men” believed they were fighting communism when they were actually entangling the country in a nationalist insurgency. Policymakers like Maxwell Taylor (the ambassador to South Vietnam) justified intervention on the grounds of defending democracy against communism. The government quickly adopted the notion that military support was inherently righteous.

This mindset was colored by moral absolutism, blinding Johnson’s administration to the territorial disputes, historical grievances, and cultural gaps that sunk the United States into an unwinnable conflict.

To avoid the same costly mistakes in Ukraine, U.S. leaders must channel to Ball’s calls for diplomacy. By working with multinational bodies such as the United Nations Security Council or the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United States can negotiate with allies for more partner support towards Ukraine. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft affirmed that a Ball-esque “negotiated settlement [would] protect [Ukraine’s] security, minimize the risks of renewed attacks or escalation, and promote broader stability in Europe and the world.” It is a pragmatic approach, recognizing Ukraine’s self-determination and sovereignty while keeping the United States from overcommitting without clear public support.

The State Department and current military advisors must also understand the local and historical contexts of foreign conflicts. In October 1964, Ball circulated a memo titled “How Valid Are the Assumptions Underlying Our Vietnam Policy?” outlining the dangers of American escalation, with some from Hanoi’s point of view. Instead of considering the dissent and on-the-ground analysis, President Johnson scoffed at the report.

As an international actor, Johnson overlooked critical opportunities to engage with grassroots South Vietnamese officials or insurgent groups presented by Ball. In the following months, Johnson’s resolve caught up to him, and more boots on the ground was the only feasible option left.

Now, consider the disastrous military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 that resulted in thirteen dead U.S. service members. Vice President Harris was the last person in the room when the call to pull out troops was made—a decision that may have cost her the presidency three years later. She and Biden severely misjudged or ignored the Taliban’s ability to topple the Afghan government, failed to prepare for evacuations adequately, and abandoned the Bagram air base.

Ultimately, whole arsenals of weaponry were left behind, and regional chaos ensued. It is a situation that Ball could have predicted, and it mirrored Saigon’s fall in 1975. Saigon’s demise was eerily similar to the collapse of Kabul in 2021, complete with poor evacuations and forgotten arms. Both capital cities collapsed much more quickly than Washington anticipated, and even the photos of helicopters lifting off embassies became symbols of American withdrawal and defeat.

Ball’s anti-war advice has been ignored for half a century, and the results have been destructive. However, as the world becomes more unstable, it is not too late to exercise it.

Under Trump, the United States has a unique chance to use Ball’s teachings in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. U.S. foreign policy experts must promote the humanitarian side of the conflict, including addressing the blockades and displacements that affect citizens in Gaza. This will empower regional bodies and organizations to improve living conditions, economic development, and security for the involved countries. It is a way for individual liberty and national stability to prosper without major outside intervention.

Ball’s guidance is a proactive effort to build a peaceful, more organic, and conservative world order. It forces us to ask difficult questions about how we value life and abstract ideas and how America must focus on long-term sustainability over short-term engagement. Ball urges America to lead not through reactionary force but through resource stewardship. It is the winning strategy that, even critics believe, will deter a regional war in the Middle East.

Alex Rosado is a Professional Programs Assistant at The Alexander Hamilton Society. Follow him on X: @Alexprosado.

Image: Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain.