US National Security Strategy

In the past, the United States has thrived when both our nation and our national security policy have adapted to shape change instead of being shaped by it…. Now, we must once again position the United States to champion mutual interests among nations and peoples. (US National Security Strategy, May 2010)

As President Obama finalizes his national security team for his second term in office, I suggest that the US revises, and brings coherence to, its National Security Strategy and the policies that should flow from it. Despite the extract quoted from the last published strategy, recent global threats and challenges have been, and continue to be, plagued by inconsistency and hesitation. This has caused confusion among allies and partners and exploitable space for others to advance agendas in detriment to US interests and the mutual interests it shares with others.

The following are just three broad examples, geographically-dispersed, to illustrate the problem:

Afghanistan: The Taliban have not been defeated, the Afghan security forces are incapable of protecting the country, corruption is rife, factionalism remains unaffected etc. Withdrawal, if it takes place in 2014, will let the country to revert back to its pre-9/11 state, with the likelihood of AQ returning to enjoy safe-haven. Some regional players will continue to use it as a pawn and some are worried about the negative consequences that could follow. It seems ironic that Russia may want the US to remain engaged.

Syria: US inaction may have extended the conflict and has allowed Islamic extremists to gain a major foothold. Iran and Hizballah are involved and worries persist that as the different players gain territory, elements of Syria’s WMD arsenal could fall into the wrong hands.

North Korea: US policy seems to continue to be reunification with South Korea. The South Koreans do not want this, and even China is now concerned with North Korean behavior. However, the only US response so far is to the North Korean missile threat by announcing an ABM deployment to Alaska at the expense of its NATO allies.

The President’s forthcoming visit to Israel will highlight tensions over the major threat of a nuclear-capable Iran, an issue that has Israel and the Gulf States in agreement!

Further articles will examine global security threats in greater detail.