National Security Strategy (United States)

The National Security Strategy is a document prepared periodically by the executive branch of the government of the United States for Congress which outlines the major national security concerns of the United States and how the administration plans to deal with them. The legal foundation for the document is spelled out in the Goldwater-Nichols Act. The document is purposely general in content (contrast with the National Military Strategy, NMS) and its implementation relies on elaborating guidance provided in supporting documents (including the NMS).

Counterinsurgency Objective

In order to defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to the National Security Strategy of 2010, the United States needs to engage in a large amount of interagency cooperation and communication with the Muslim population in Afghanistan and throughout the world.^[1] The objective of the National Security Strategy is to create a stable situation for the world, including those countries struggling with insurgencies. “The most effective long-term measure for conflict and resolution is the promotion of democracy and economic development." ^[2] In order to promote democracy and economic development communication with the civilian population of the host-nation is essential. The Stability Operations Field Manual states that success depends on a U.S. ability to build local institutions and in the establishment of a legitimate permanent government, which builds trust between the citizens and the counterinsurgency personnel."^[3] The National Security Strategy establishes the interagency coordination in order to conduct useful public diplomacy to secure the population in the countries of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Previous National Security Strategies

The National Security Strategy issued on September 17, 2002 was released in the midst of controversy over the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war which is contained therein. It also contains the notion of military pre-eminence that was reflected in a Department of Defense paper of 1992, "Defense Policy Guidance", prepared by two principal authors (Paul Wolfowitz and I. Lewis Libby) working under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. The NSS 2002 also repeats and re-emphasizes past initiatives aimed at providing substantial foreign aid to countries that are moving towards Western-style democracy, with the "ambitious and specific target" of "doubl[ing] the size of the world's poorest economies within a decade." [NSS 2002, p. 21].

The Bush doctrine emerges in the context of moving from the old Cold War doctrine of deterrence to a pro-active attempt to adjust policy to the realities of the current situation where the threat is just as likely to come from a terrorist group such as al-Qaeda as from a nation state such as Iraq or Iran.^[4]

The document also treats AIDS as a threat to national security, promising substantial efforts to combat its spread and devastating effects.

The 2010 National Security Strategy

On May 26, 2010, the latest National Security Strategy was issued by President Barack Obama.^[5] The new Strategy was referred to by United Nations ambassador Susan Rice as a "dramatic departure" from its predecessor.^[6] The Strategy advocated increased engagement with Russia, China and India.^[7] The Strategy also identified nuclear non-proliferation and climate change as priorities,^[8] while noting that the United States's security depended on reviving its economy.^[9] The drafters of the new Strategy made a conscious decision to remove terms such as "Islamic radicalism", instead speaking of terrorism generally.^[10]

See also

• National Military Strategy (United States)
• Joint Planning Document
• Joint Requirements Oversight Council

References

1. ^ "National Security Strategy 2010". United States Government. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/national_security_strategy.pdf. Retrieved April 21, 2011. 
2. ^ Caldwell, Lt. General William B.. "Stability Operations Field Manual FM 3-07". United States Army. http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/Repository/FM307/FM3-07.pdf. Retrieved April 15, 2011. 
3. ^ Caldwell, Lt. General William B.. "Stability Operations Field Manual FM 3-07". United States Army. http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/Repository/FM307/FM3-07.pdf. Retrieved April 15, 2011. 
4. ^ See External Links reference to H.R. 282.
5. ^ National Security Strategy 2010
6. ^ Sanger, David E.; Baker, Peter (27 May 2010). "New U.S. Security Strategy Focuses on Managing Threats". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/world/28strategy.html?ref=world. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
7. ^ MacAskill, Ewen (27 May 2010). "Barack Obama sets out security strategy based on diplomacy instead of war". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/27/us-national-security-strategy-report. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
8. ^ DeYoung, Karen (27 May 2010). "Obama redefines national security strategy, looks beyond military might". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/27/AR2010052701044.html?hpid=sec-politics. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
9. ^ Luce, Edward (27 May 2010). "Obama doctrine hinges on economy". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c91a30a6-69d2-11df-8432-00144feab49a.html. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 
10. ^ Rajgahtta, Chidanand (28 May 2010). "Obama rids terror lexicon of 'Islamic radicalism'". The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/Obama-rids-terror-lexicon-of-Islamic-radicalism/articleshow/5982965.cms. Retrieved 27 May 2010. 

External links

• The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (2006)
• The National Security Strategy of the United States of America 2002
• U.S. House of Representatives bill (H.R. 282) to hold the current regime in Iran accountable for its threatening behavior and to support a transition to democracy in Iran.
• National Security Strategy 2010
• Stability Operations Field Manual FM 3-07 (2008)

In the media

• April 16, 2007, The CNA Corporation: National Security and the Threat of Climate Change