The United States Government 2010 National Security Strategy - Term Paper Example

 Introduction Government strategy documents represent the official policy of the government regarding a particular issue. They are formulated by policy experts and provide detailed action plan of the government on any issue. National strategy documents also discuss details of the issue and actions that government has taken already and wishes to take in future. In this paper we will compare and contrast two national strategy documents, The United States Government 2010 National Security Strategy and The United States Government Global Health Initiative Strategy 2010. We will briefly summarize the main points of the two documents and then will analyze how the two US strategy documents are different from each other. The United States Government 2010 National Security Strategy The US National Security Strategy document entails the policies of the country with regards to global terrorism and national security. The National Security Strategy document identifies how important role economy can play in security of the country. The document also calls for good relationships with Russia, India, and China. Experts see the 2010 security strategy as a major shift from the previous security policies (Baker & Sanger, 2010). The document also focuses on nuclear non proliferation and global warming and sees them as a threat to national security. The previous security policies were all centered on counter terrorism but the 2010 national security strategy looks at other issues as well. The document categorizes revival of the economy as one of the main priorities of American government. The national strategy document also provides detailed action plans for future. The United States Government Global Health Initiative Strategy 2010 This document talks about the health initiatives United States government has taken or plan to take in future. Obama administration has taken many steps to upgrade the health care system to cater to the changing needs of citizens. The administration proposes through this document for a global health initiative. The document tells how United States will play its role in solving the health problems different countries are facing today. The strategy documents indentifies malaria, HIV, unwanted pregnancies, pregnancy related deaths, and malnourishment as major health problems of the world. The document vows to improve health care in the developing countries. Comparing and contrasting the two documents The two strategy documents are in many ways different from each other. The National Security Strategy document is more detailed and it is clearly visible that more effort is gone into it. The security strategy document also highlights points that might be vital to the security of the country and therefore it is much more extensive than the health initiative strategy document. It is understandable that security document is much more detailed and extensive as compared to the health strategy document because national security of United States is its first priority. The global health initiative is an effort to reduce health problems from developing countries therefore in comparison to the security strategy document, it is secondary in nature. Another difference between the two documents is the time given for the implementation of the policies. The national security strategy document presents long term goals and no clear cut action plan is given. For example the document calls for more engagement with India, China, and Russia, but it doesn’t mention clearly how this engagement will come about. On the other hand the global health initiative document discusses specific plans and set targets to be achieved in the near future. The targets set in the health initiative documents are much more specific than the objectives highlighted in the national security strategy document. A possible reason for it may be that national security matters are complex and a specific action plan cannot be devised. International relations and the global environment change regularly, and therefore it is not possible to predict or plan future actions specifically. Global health initiative document also discussed things clearly the facts and backs them with numbers (USAID, 2010). In the report different numbers and percentages are given which provide evidence of the main issue at hand. Also the report is centered on one main topic that is global health. However the national security strategy document discusses many issues like war against terrorism, global warming, climatic change, economy, etc. the document also attempts to outline the future United States foreign policy to a certain extent and elaborates on the present world environment. The national security strategy document therefore discusses many points while global health initiative document focuses on the health issues the developing world is facing today. The national security strategy document also is used to present the future direction of security policy of United States. The choice of words is therefore very meticulous since this document has a great effect on the world politics. For example the word ‘Islamic fundamentalism’ is not used and in its place global terrorism is used (Rajgahtta, 2010). It is therefore clear that the national security document attempts only to hint the direction of the future national security policy of the country. The document does not contain clear cut action plans or targets to be achieved. The aim is not to make anyone angry through the security document. The global health initiative is written in a more candid tone and statistics are given to make people realize how important it is to help people of the developing countries. The document does not attempt to hide anything, rather everything is mentioned in a clear cut way without any ambiguity. The national security strategy document is also written in an academic tone. It is clear that the target audience of the document is learned people who can understand the dynamics of international politics and national security strategy. The document is not aimed at the general audience. However the global health initiative document is aimed at the general audience. It tells the world what United States is doing to reduce the health problems of the developing countries. The paper is written in a very simple language so that general audience can understand it. One aim of the paper, it seems, is to attract positive attention of the world. The national security strategy document is also lacking the specific directions as to how the government will revive the economy of the country. Only objectives are given but there is no information as to how to achieve economic prosperity. The report only identifies that economy is major component of country’s security and US debt is a problem for everyone. But other than that there is no mention of the steps government is taken in this regard. The focus of the report remains on global terrorism just like the previous national strategy document. The global health initiative, on the other hand, aims to highlight what the country is doing with regards to the global health problems. The font of the report and the way the data is presented makes it very clear that the report is aimed to attract positive attention. Also action plans are given and countries which are to be focused in the first phase are also selected. This displays the focus of the document in on solving health problems and attracting positive attention of the world. Conclusion The two documents are written for different purposes all together. The national security strategy document is aimed to highlight the future of United Sates security policy. It hints on the future of international relations and global politics. On the other hand the global health initiative document discusses the noble cause of health care improvement which the country has vowed to. The aims and objectives of the both the strategy papers are different, and therefore they are written in very different ways. References Fact Sheet: The U.S. Government’s Global Health Initiative. (2010). USAID. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://transition.usaid.gov/ghi/factsheet.html National Security Strategy. (2010). White House. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/national_security_strategy.pdf Rajgahtta, Chidanand. (2010). Obama rids terror lexicon of 'Islamic radicalism". The Times of India. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-05-28/us/28273424_1_president-barack-obama-radicalism-obama-administration Sanger, David E & Baker, Peter. (2010). New U.S. Security Strategy Focuses on Managing Threats. New York Times. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/world/28strategy.html?_r=1&ref=world The United States Government Global Health Initiative. (2010). Retrieved on June 26, 2012 from http://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/136504.pdf Read More