The first aspect of this approach being denying terrorist organizations “control of populations, territories, and resources”. This aspect is mainly being addressed through military offenses, although in parts as well due to diplomatic efforts in helping establish strong and secure governing bodies in susceptible areas in the Middle East. The next primary aspect is to cut off their money so that they cannot be financed. Financial sourcing of terrorists is often overlooked by mainstream media and public discourse, as military efforts tend to take the spotlight. However, by reaffirming that cutting off the financial support terrorist organizations need to sustain themselves is, in fact, a priority for the US, General McMaster demonstrated that the US establishment has developed an increasingly multilateral approach at addressing the war on terror. The last facet of this three-pronged approach is regarding addressing the rise of extremist ideologies. Attempts to prevent the expansion of such ideologies, that breed radicalism and often violence, are also often over-shadowed by military efforts, but addressing the problem of radicalization can serve as a great preventative measure in preventing future instances of terrorist attacks.

Mainstream media, as it has in the past, overlooks statements like this, which are fairly progressive viewpoints on terrorism. Such comments by members of Trump’s establishment, that often align fairly well with liberal narratives, are scarcely mentioned or drawn attention to. Such points of collaboration are rather twisted into points of contention, deepening the divide between political establishments in the U.S.

Although mainstream media continues to be preoccupied with Trump’s hand-shaking strategies, the US establishment under Trump appears to show a growingly multifaceted and knowledgeable approach to fighting terrorism, not one solely focused on using military offenses. General McMaster, as he debriefed on President Trump’s recent trip abroad, expressed praise and appreciation for Trump’s continued focus and emphasis on fighting the war on terror in a collaborative and sustainable manner.McMaster began the debrief by addressing Trump’s commitment to the 3-pronged approach to fighting terrorism.McMaster then briefly discussed Trump’s visit to Israel, and commitment to relations with the country, as well as the conversations have been initiated by the president regarding advancing the efforts to attain peace between Palestine and Israel. He also spoke of the visits to holy sites, drawing attention to the fact that such visits signify “the commonalities that are shared among various religions”. When speaking of the visit to The Vatican, McMaster again made reference to the recurring themes of tolerance and common values throughout Trump’s first official foreign trip. McMaster said that this is all “to emphasize that this is not a war of religion. This is a war between civilization and modern day barbarians”. He also made mention that terrorists do nothing more than distorting the true visions and goals of religions, and in doing so are in no reality true derivatives of religion.McMaster also briefly discussed how Trump brought attention and emphasis to the need for the NATO alliance to shift its focus more towards counter-terrorism at the NATO headquarters. Furthermore, he spoke to how discussions in G7 focused on critical counter-terrorism topics and collaboration among not just the G7 members but each individual members’ partners as well . McMaster then made mention to the destabilizing role Iran is playing in the region , in helping strengthen terrorist organizations directly and indirectly. He called for the need of all international leaders to hold Iran responsible for its “destructive” behavior and actions in the Middle East, particularly in the context of advancing the war on terror. McMaster’s comments mainly revolved around how collaborative and proactive discussions had been over Trumps’ trip, and drew attention to points of the U.S.’s foreign policy that tend to be overlooked by mainstream media. The America's approach to fighting terrorism is a newsworthy topic that unfortunately has been underreported at the expense of pushing for headlines about handshakes that would much better be suited for the entertainment E! network.