The Main Influences on the US National Security Strategies - Essay Example

Running head: NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGIES What Were The Main National Or International Influences On Any Significant Changes Or Continuities In Us National Security Strategies? Why? [Writer’s name] [Institution’s name] What Were The Main National Or International Influences On Any Significant Changes Or Continuities In Us National Security Strategies? Why? Introduction A strong national security strategy is something which every nation requires. It helps them to protect themselves from external threats like rouge states America has always had the best national security strategies , infact by their means they help other nations as well. This essay dhal give a detailed analysis of America’s national security strategy. It covers all the important steps which America took to strengthen it. It also has detailed information about what each president did to strengthen their national security. Analysis Monroe Doctrine President James Monroe gave an overview of the Monroe Doctrine in 1828. In it he advised the European nations not to temper with the issues of America's neighbours. He was basically answering back to threats which Europe had given them regarding assisting Spain in recapturing the Latin American colonies which were previously theirs. Initially, the doctrine was supposed to support feeble Latin American countries in opposition to European powers and stand against Russian intrusion near the Pacific Coast. The Monroe Doctrine stated that European powers could not in any way now interfere with the matters of the states which had recently gained their independence. When it was sanctioned it was considered as one of the causes behind the cold war. Thus this made them realize that neither a balance nor a preponderance of power is peaceful (Powell 1999 p6). 1947 It was in the summer of 1947 that President Harry S. Truman signed and put into effect the National Security Act. It was a new term and one that represented this nation's approach to the rest of the world. The legislation of the Act unified, at least to some extent, the armed forces of this country. It retained the army and the navy but it also established the air force, all as separate departments under the secretary of defence. National security was no longer tied to geography. The purpose of the National Security Council according to 1947 act was to give suggestions to the President regarding the development and rethinking of domestic, foreign, and military policies regarding national security and to aid interagency cooperation. It also gave excellent coordination of the three all armed forces (army, navy and air force) without an alliance. As For Defence officials, it guaranteed a continuous process of military influence in formulation of associated foreign as well as domestic policies in peacetime. Truman doctrine The Truman Doctrine’s policy was first put into action in 1947; called for the destruction of American nuclear weapons which were the only existing ones(McCullough 1993 p646) Their objective was to send U.S. aid to anti-Communist forces in Greece and Turkey. However, this policy expanded and the United States applied this policy to any countries that were threatened by Communism. Marshall Plan In 1947 to carry out the United States goals, the United State created the Marshall Plan; this program was an economic aid to help rebuild western European economies. It seems that after the war the Communist opportunities were gaining because of it post war economic status. The plans sent over 13 billion dollars into western European Economy and west of Germany. The Truman doctrine and Marshall plan was known as two halves of the same walnut. As they had the same objectives (Ambrose & Brinkley 1997 p86). Mutual Security Act of 1951 Truman felt the need for another national security act and thus Mutual Security Act of 1951 came into being. The rest of the world order countries in the European continent which had suffered a lot of losses due to war and the under developed states of Asia, Africa, and South America were badly suffering. Ideologically distributed and with challenging goals, the Soviet Union along with the United States each fought for control over the restructuring and development of these states. From the perspective of U.S. foreign policy makers, the defencelessness of these nations to the danger of communist influence and violence was a huge threat to the national security of the United States as well as the rest of the countries which ahs already attained their impedance (Wittkopf etal 2002 p 24). In reply to this security risk, the United States passed the Mutual Security Act of 1951, it’s goal was to uphold the security and support the foreign policy and give general welfare of the United States by giving help to forthcoming stats due to international harmony and safety. The real intention behind this act was to provide security to the democracy in the constant fight against communism. This was made possible by intending to provide welfare to nations which were not in favour of communism. 1960-79 The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks In the 1960s, the States of America changed it’s strategy and joined hands with the soviets to put an end to the increase in nuclear weapons and to safeguard their disincentive ability, coalition leadership, and reputation. Some treaties were signed to fulfil their goal, The Antarctic treaty in 1960 was one of them it let the continent remain demilitarized. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 along with the Seabed Arms Control Treaty of 1971 had similar results. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT 1) of 1972 stopped the production of Soviet and united states strategic missiles. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks 2 of 1979 restricted both sides to only two thousand two hundred and twenty two nuclear weapon launchers. The Intermediate Nuclear Force 9INF Treaty of 1987 had the best results it led to the dismantling of Soviet SS-20 and US Pershing 2 missiles. Administration’s response to the Bay of Pigs crisis The Department of State's evident failure to successfully receive the administration's reply to the Bay of Pigs crisis around 1961 resulted in a lot of strategy making in order to improve the independent advice which the president received from the government. As they had cancelled the bay of pigs Cuban invasion project even from the state department Cuban desk. (Van Evera 2001 p51). It also gave a push to the National Security Council to restart it’s process of monitoring the implementation of policy. The most significant move in this direction was designing a Situation Room in the White House; this was carried out in 1962. The Sit Room was directly connected to each and every communication channels of the State Department as well as the Department of Defense, along with a number of channels of the CIA. Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty The Cuban Missile Crisis was when the Soviets put ICBM, Inter Continental Ballistic Missile, launchers in Cuba. This caused the United States to create an embargo on Cuba. The United States also threatened to blow up the world if the Soviets didn't remove the weapons (Waltz 2002 p 347). Despite the chilling moves and battles of the Cold War during this period, a gain was made toward world peace with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, written and signed in 1963 (Utgoff 2002 p85). It was a ban on any further testing of Nuclear Weapons. France and China didn't sign it. 1971-73 In these years national security was introduced with new strategies of communication, the CIA’s messages were kept a secret only Kissinger knew what they were. They came through what is called the back channel. Kissinger was like negotiator for National security in 1971 in which he negotiated the Vietnam peace treaty and after 1973 in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict he also was the negotiator, he played the same role in summit meetings with Soviet Union. He basically got the national security system to turn into international peacemaking machine. 1981 When Reagan came into office, he worked to modify the national security system. In 1981 three groups were designed they were to handle the international issues as well as the issue regarding defence and intelligence. The heads of these groups were to be Secretaries of State and Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence. To help the these groups, the Secretary of State planned an Interagency Groups for every geographic area, politico-military issues, as well as international economic issues. 1982-87 In March 1983 gave Reagan his vision of a defensive system which would make the nuclear weapons obsolete.( Waltz 1993 p102) 1982, the United States and the Soviet Union began the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START). The goal of these talks was to fix a number of nuclear weapons which each country could hold. After this in 1987 the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) came into being in which the complete dismantling of missiles which could launched from the ground was passed . 1989 According to Posen and Ross (1997) when George Bush came into office he also made a lot of modifications in the National security system. in his inaugural ceremony, in 1989, he issued national security document 1, which provided a charter for improving the quality of employees in the national Security Council. Scowcroft and Eagleburger, travelled all the way to China in an attempt to develop strong U.S. relations with China. This was done due to the after effects of the pro-democracy demonstrations which were held at Tiananmen Square. 1990 In l990, Bush received a official document from the NSC it stated that Iraq and Saddam Hussein can be known as the most possible candidates to restore the Warsaw Pact' as the justification for continuous cold war military expenditure and completely finishing off the 'peace dividend' (Bush 2008 p35). Their entire policy seemed mostly to highlight encourage greater recognition of the principles human rights, it seemed to highlight a lot about transfer of weapons both war and mass destruction, it also emphasis on USSR reconstruction. According to Betts (2007) later on bush strategy would include a lot of waste of money in order to keep troops in Afghanistan . 2001 Strategy only gives a much narrower role for preemption. By preemption it means finishing off terrorists and rogue states. It does not use preemption has a term used in order express the lingering threat against Russia, this helped the United States to gain support from China and Russia. The United States has been looking for extensively international support and cooperation since 9/11, because the United States hope to gain supports from China and Russia at UN Security Council. The National Security Strategy of the United States of America", shows that the United States is seeking for supports from former enemies to be friends, so that the United States will be able to obtain support on issues such as counterterrorism. This policy serves the interests and advantages for both the United States and Russia. Moreover, United States is seeking opportunity to build up a good relationship with arising regional superpower-China. This was necessary in the past years china’s statement had shaken their government when they pointed out eth shallowness of the American government as it was divorced from it’s people (Foot 1997 p12). Thus when they talked about defending their people against rouge sates china decided to instantly assist then. Furthermore, the United States has invented this policy that helps its authority and legitimacy to preemptively strike at rogue states and states that support terrorists; so that the United States can eliminate threats to the homeland security and its allies before rogue states and terrorists' attacks. Conclusion National security has always been a top priority issue for America. By the above given analysis it can be concluded that every time a new president came into office or when it faced war a new strategy was designed. Rouge states have always been a threat to them, thus they have to design fool proof strategies. Every president which came into office faced either war or hostility from other nations thus they always worked to improve their national security. They implemented important strategies like the Monroe doctrine National Security Act, Truman doctrine, Marshall Plan, Mutual Security Act of 1951, The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, strengthening internal communication channels, Strategic Arms Reduction Talks, ending the 'peace dividend', befriending china and attacking Rouge states. Thus it can be said that America’s government ahs invested a lot of timer and money in improving their national security strategies. References Ambrose Stephen and Brinkley Douglas (1997); Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938, 8th edition New York, NY: Penguin Books, Betts K. Richard (2007), “A Disciplined Defense: How to Regain Strategic Solvency,” Foreign Affairs 86 (6). Blanco Bush W. George (2008), The National Security Strategy of the United States of America LeClue22 pp. 1-35. Foot, Rosemary (1995); The Practice of Power: U.S. Relations with China since 1949, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 143-193 McCullough David (1993). Truman. Touchstone Books Posen R. Barry and Ross L. Andrew (1997); Competing Visions for U.S. Grand Strategy,” International Security 21:3 pp. 5-53. Powell Robert(1993), In The Shadow of Power: States and Strategies in International Politics Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press Utgoff Victor (2002); “Missile Defense and American Ambitions,” Survival Volume 44, Number 2, Francis and Taylor pp. 85-102 Van Evera Stephen (2001); Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict Cornell University Press; illustrated edition p 51 Waltz Kenneth (1990); “Nuclear Myths and Political Realities,” American Political Science Review pp. 102-118. Waltz Kenneth (2002), “Missile Defense and the Multiplication of Nuclear Weapons,” reprinted from Kenneth Waltz and Scott Sagan, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, pp. 347-352. Wittkopf Eugene, Kegley Charles and Scott James (2002); American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process, 6th edition New York: Thomson Wadsworth, p24 Read More