buglerbilly
29-05-10, 03:31 AM
By JOHN T. BENNETT
Published: 27 May 2010 21:02
The Obama administration's first U.S. National Security Strategy makes clear the White House views economic revival as its top priority and a WMD attack as the nation's top threat.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the massive federal deficit a threat to U.S. security policies. (Getty Images)
Sprinkled throughout the strategy, released May 27, is ample talk about the need for, and efforts underway, to stanch the economic bleeding in the United States. The NSS calls the American economy and national prosperity "the foundation of America's strength."
U.S. strength and influence abroad "begins with the steps we take at home," President Obama writes in its opening pages. "We must grow our economy and reduce our deficit."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in Washington on May 27 about the new NSS, called the massive federal deficit a threat to U.S. security policies.
"We cannot sustain this level of deficit financing and debt without losing our influence, without being constrained about the tough decisions we have to make," Clinton said.
Strobe Talbot, a former deputy secretary of state and Brookings president, said, "The prospects for the deficit are not a pretty sight." It was $1.4 trillion in fiscal 2009, and could approach $1.6 trillion this year.
Talbot said senior military officials have told him the deficit might be the "single biggest national security threat."
Still, Clinton said during the event at the Brookings Institution the nation is in a "far better" economic condition today than when Obama took office in January 2009. "And that matters" when she and other U.S. officials are working with global leaders on any number of issues.
Clinton said her "biggest takeaway" from the NSS is the U.S. "must be strong at home to be strong abroad," a message evident throughout the strategy document.
While the strategic blueprint states America's global influence has waned, Clinton said the nation remains the world's lone major power.
"There is no significant global challenge that can be met" without U.S. leadership, she said.
"Our prosperity serves as a wellspring for our power," the strategy says.
"It pays for our military, underwrites our diplomacy and development efforts, and serves as a leading source of our influence in the world."
The administration believes that it is a vibrant U.S. economic machine that will "serve as an engine of opportunity for the American people, and a source of American influence abroad."
Tuning up that engine, however, won't be easy.
"Rebuilding our economy must include putting ourselves on a fiscally sustainable path," the NSS states. "As such, implementing our national security strategy will require a disciplined approach to setting priorities and making tradeoffs among competing programs and activities.
"Years of rising fiscal and trade deficits will also necessitate hard choices in the years ahead," it states.
Top Threats
While the daily fight in places like Iraq and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region against al-Qaida and other extremist groups gets most of the attention, the administration places weapons of mass destruction atop America's threat list.
"Terrorism is one of many threats that are more consequential in a global age," the NSS states. "The gravest danger to the American people and global security continues to come from weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons."
While it places a WMD atop the threat list, the ongoing fight against al-Qaida and other violent extremist groups also ranks near the top.
The National Security Strategy states the administration's goal is to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida and its affiliates.
"We are pursuing a strategy that protects our homeland, secures the world's most dangerous weapons and material, denies al-Qaida safe haven, and builds positive partnerships with Muslim communities around the world," the security game plan states. "Success requires a broad, sustained, and integrated campaign that judiciously applies every tool of American power - both military and civilian."
The much-anticipated strategy paints a picture of a complex threat environment.
"Instead of a hostile expansionist empire, we now face a diverse array of challenges, from a loose network of violent extremists to states that flout international norms or face internal collapse," the document states.
"In addition to facing enemies on traditional battlefields, the United States must now be prepared for asymmetric threats, such as those that target our reliance on space and cyberspace."
Seeking Partners
As administration officials have said for months, the strategy says this White House intends to build partnerships across the globe. And it does so in language that marks a sharp break with the worldview of the Bush administration.
"Engagement is the active participation of the United States in relationships beyond our borders," states the document. "It is, quite simply, the opposite of a self-imposed isolation that denies us the ability to shape outcomes. Indeed, America has never succeeded through isolationism."
The strategy calls for strengthening old alliances and modernizing them "to meet the challenges of a new century."
The White House will seek an "international order" capable of resolving "the challenges of our times - countering violent extremism and insurgency; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons … combating a changing climate and sustaining global growth; helping countries feed themselves and care for their sick; resolving and preventing conflict, while also healing its wounds."
The administration puts promoting "democracy and individual empowerment" as top goals.
The administration plans to work closer with key allies, while also continuing to foster relationships with "other 21st century centers of influence - including China, India, and Russia."
Clinton said the Obama administration has established a "deeper relationship" with each of those nations, saying ongoing dialogue with each is better than a relationship only in times of crises.
The 52-page strategy also delivers a message to possible U.S. foes.
"To adversarial governments, we offer a clear choice: Abide by international norms, and achieve the political and economic benefits that come with greater integration with the international community," it states, "or refuse to accept this pathway, and bear the consequences of that decision, including greater isolation."
Isolating hostile nations does not, however, mean this administration will hesitate to unleash military power, but it includes a number of carefully worded caveats.
"While the use of force is sometimes necessary, we will exhaust other options before war whenever we can, and carefully weigh the costs and risks of action against the costs and risks of inaction," the Obama strategy states. "When force is necessary, we will continue to do so in a way that reflects our values and strengthens our legitimacy, and we will seek broad international support, working with such institutions as NATO and the U.N. Security Council."
The administration, interestingly, preserves one core tenant of the so-called Bush Doctrine: the "right" to launch a solo military strike but again, with caveats.
"The United States must reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend our nation and our interests, yet we will also seek to adhere to standards that govern the use of force," according to the strategic plan.
"Doing so strengthens those who act in line with international standards, while isolating and weakening those who do not."
The NSS also breaks with the George W. Bush administration in stating it will "outline a clear mandate and specific objectives and thoroughly consider the consequences - intended and unintended - of our actions."
Some U.S. and global leaders criticized the Bush administration for using the American military to solve too many problems. The NSS makes clear the Obama team has different plans.
"When we overuse our military might, or fail to invest in or deploy complementary tools, or act without partners, then our military is overstretched, Americans bear a greater burden, and our leadership around the world is too narrowly identified with military force," the strategy says.
Clinton said Washington is "no less powerful," but stressed U.S. officials "must apply power in different ways." During the Bush administration, she said Washington employed direct power; the new administration plans to shift to "applications of indirect power."
Published: 27 May 2010 21:02
The Obama administration's first U.S. National Security Strategy makes clear the White House views economic revival as its top priority and a WMD attack as the nation's top threat.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the massive federal deficit a threat to U.S. security policies. (Getty Images)
Sprinkled throughout the strategy, released May 27, is ample talk about the need for, and efforts underway, to stanch the economic bleeding in the United States. The NSS calls the American economy and national prosperity "the foundation of America's strength."
U.S. strength and influence abroad "begins with the steps we take at home," President Obama writes in its opening pages. "We must grow our economy and reduce our deficit."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in Washington on May 27 about the new NSS, called the massive federal deficit a threat to U.S. security policies.
"We cannot sustain this level of deficit financing and debt without losing our influence, without being constrained about the tough decisions we have to make," Clinton said.
Strobe Talbot, a former deputy secretary of state and Brookings president, said, "The prospects for the deficit are not a pretty sight." It was $1.4 trillion in fiscal 2009, and could approach $1.6 trillion this year.
Talbot said senior military officials have told him the deficit might be the "single biggest national security threat."
Still, Clinton said during the event at the Brookings Institution the nation is in a "far better" economic condition today than when Obama took office in January 2009. "And that matters" when she and other U.S. officials are working with global leaders on any number of issues.
Clinton said her "biggest takeaway" from the NSS is the U.S. "must be strong at home to be strong abroad," a message evident throughout the strategy document.
While the strategic blueprint states America's global influence has waned, Clinton said the nation remains the world's lone major power.
"There is no significant global challenge that can be met" without U.S. leadership, she said.
"Our prosperity serves as a wellspring for our power," the strategy says.
"It pays for our military, underwrites our diplomacy and development efforts, and serves as a leading source of our influence in the world."
The administration believes that it is a vibrant U.S. economic machine that will "serve as an engine of opportunity for the American people, and a source of American influence abroad."
Tuning up that engine, however, won't be easy.
"Rebuilding our economy must include putting ourselves on a fiscally sustainable path," the NSS states. "As such, implementing our national security strategy will require a disciplined approach to setting priorities and making tradeoffs among competing programs and activities.
"Years of rising fiscal and trade deficits will also necessitate hard choices in the years ahead," it states.
Top Threats
While the daily fight in places like Iraq and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region against al-Qaida and other extremist groups gets most of the attention, the administration places weapons of mass destruction atop America's threat list.
"Terrorism is one of many threats that are more consequential in a global age," the NSS states. "The gravest danger to the American people and global security continues to come from weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons."
While it places a WMD atop the threat list, the ongoing fight against al-Qaida and other violent extremist groups also ranks near the top.
The National Security Strategy states the administration's goal is to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida and its affiliates.
"We are pursuing a strategy that protects our homeland, secures the world's most dangerous weapons and material, denies al-Qaida safe haven, and builds positive partnerships with Muslim communities around the world," the security game plan states. "Success requires a broad, sustained, and integrated campaign that judiciously applies every tool of American power - both military and civilian."
The much-anticipated strategy paints a picture of a complex threat environment.
"Instead of a hostile expansionist empire, we now face a diverse array of challenges, from a loose network of violent extremists to states that flout international norms or face internal collapse," the document states.
"In addition to facing enemies on traditional battlefields, the United States must now be prepared for asymmetric threats, such as those that target our reliance on space and cyberspace."
Seeking Partners
As administration officials have said for months, the strategy says this White House intends to build partnerships across the globe. And it does so in language that marks a sharp break with the worldview of the Bush administration.
"Engagement is the active participation of the United States in relationships beyond our borders," states the document. "It is, quite simply, the opposite of a self-imposed isolation that denies us the ability to shape outcomes. Indeed, America has never succeeded through isolationism."
The strategy calls for strengthening old alliances and modernizing them "to meet the challenges of a new century."
The White House will seek an "international order" capable of resolving "the challenges of our times - countering violent extremism and insurgency; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons … combating a changing climate and sustaining global growth; helping countries feed themselves and care for their sick; resolving and preventing conflict, while also healing its wounds."
The administration puts promoting "democracy and individual empowerment" as top goals.
The administration plans to work closer with key allies, while also continuing to foster relationships with "other 21st century centers of influence - including China, India, and Russia."
Clinton said the Obama administration has established a "deeper relationship" with each of those nations, saying ongoing dialogue with each is better than a relationship only in times of crises.
The 52-page strategy also delivers a message to possible U.S. foes.
"To adversarial governments, we offer a clear choice: Abide by international norms, and achieve the political and economic benefits that come with greater integration with the international community," it states, "or refuse to accept this pathway, and bear the consequences of that decision, including greater isolation."
Isolating hostile nations does not, however, mean this administration will hesitate to unleash military power, but it includes a number of carefully worded caveats.
"While the use of force is sometimes necessary, we will exhaust other options before war whenever we can, and carefully weigh the costs and risks of action against the costs and risks of inaction," the Obama strategy states. "When force is necessary, we will continue to do so in a way that reflects our values and strengthens our legitimacy, and we will seek broad international support, working with such institutions as NATO and the U.N. Security Council."
The administration, interestingly, preserves one core tenant of the so-called Bush Doctrine: the "right" to launch a solo military strike but again, with caveats.
"The United States must reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend our nation and our interests, yet we will also seek to adhere to standards that govern the use of force," according to the strategic plan.
"Doing so strengthens those who act in line with international standards, while isolating and weakening those who do not."
The NSS also breaks with the George W. Bush administration in stating it will "outline a clear mandate and specific objectives and thoroughly consider the consequences - intended and unintended - of our actions."
Some U.S. and global leaders criticized the Bush administration for using the American military to solve too many problems. The NSS makes clear the Obama team has different plans.
"When we overuse our military might, or fail to invest in or deploy complementary tools, or act without partners, then our military is overstretched, Americans bear a greater burden, and our leadership around the world is too narrowly identified with military force," the strategy says.
Clinton said Washington is "no less powerful," but stressed U.S. officials "must apply power in different ways." During the Bush administration, she said Washington employed direct power; the new administration plans to shift to "applications of indirect power."