National Security Strategy of the United States

The National Security Strategy of the United States of America 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 [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00000404---a000-.html (1)] . The document is purposely general in content (contrast with the National Military Strategy) and its implementation relies on elaborating guidance provided in supporting documents (including the NMS).

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. [See External Links reference to H.R. 282.]

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

The current National Security Strategy

On March 16, 2006, the latest National Security Strategy was issued. It is a return to the more multilateral approach of previous administrations. It restates America's commitment to supporting democracies and defeating terrorism, puts forth a plan to restructure institutions related to national security, and discusses the challenges of globalization.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss/2006/ Text of the current National Security Strategy of the United States]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss/2002/index.html The National Security Strategy of 2002]
* [http://www.theorator.com/bills109/hr282.html Link to U.S. House of Representatives bill 282 to hold the current regime in Iran accountable for its threatening behavior and to support a transition to democracy in Iran.]

In the media

*April 16, 2007, "The CNA Corporation": [http://securityandclimate.cna.org/ National Security and the Threat of Climate Change]