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America's New "National Security Strategy" Breaks with Past
The first duty of any sovereign political entity is the protection of its citizens from external attack. To articulate how it does that, the US government produces every so often a "National Security Strategy" document. In 2006, the Bush administration announced in its NSS that the war against "radical militant Islam" was the single defining factor in US security policy. The NSS released this afternoon defines that war much more narrowly and places it in a context of a less Manichean world. In short, the grown-ups who know something about the world are back in charge.
In the introduction to the 52-page monograph, the president writes, "The burdens of a young century cannot fall on American shoulders alone . . . our adversaries would like to see America sap our strength by overextending our power." He also writes, "As we fight the wars in front of us, we must see the horizon beyond them. To get there, we must pursue a strategy of national renewal and global leadership -- a strategy that rebuilds the foundation of American strength and influence." That far-sightedness means:
the United States remains the only nation able to project and sustain large-scale military operations over extended distances . . . [but] 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 forces.
In other words, too many coffin-draped flags show up at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware because Americans in years past preferred to shoot first and ask questions later. Those at the point of the spear deserve better than Jack Bauer-fueled faux machismo from chickenhawks who enjoyed five draft deferments. At last, there is a policy structure that will exhaust all the possibilities before taking the safeties off the M-4 rifles.
The new NSS lays out four "inextricably linked enduring national interests": security, prosperity, values and international order. Collectively, these form the lodestone guiding American security policy both in terms of hard and soft power. This means that nuclear proliferation and climate change matter as do the South Asian wars. Cyber-threats and dependence on petroleum, ignored by the Busheviks, are recognized as real threats to American security.
Since going it alone is out, "our relationship with our European allies remains the cornerstone for US engagement with the world." The new NSS singles out Japan and Korea as Asian partners, as well as Canada and Mexico in the New World. The document promises to deal with "other key centers of influence -- including China, India and Russia, as well as increasingly influential nations such as Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia." The Obama administration's decision to make the G20, rather than the old G8, "the premier forum for international economic cooperation" attests to this.
Once upon a time, politics ended at the water's edge, or so the legend has it. The NSS acknowledges "Throughout the Cold War, even as there were intense disagreements about certain courses of action, there remained a belief that America's political leaders shared common goals, even if they differed about how to reach them. In today's political environment, due to the actions of both parties, that sense of common purpose is at times lacking in our national security dialogue." Or as the comic strip Pogo noticed decades ago, "We have met the enemy and he is us."
While opponents will claim that the new NSS is merely the 44th president saying in 52 pages "I am not Bush," a dispassionate reading of the document shows that policy is no longer an interminable session of Texas Hold 'Em played by failed oilmen. It is, as it should be, a serious undertaking to protect American interests, those of its friends and allies, and moreover, it is a tireless effort to come to accommodations with those less well-disposed toward it.
© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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