.
Some of it made sense. Some of it didn't. Here are a few items of interest:
| From the document | Our comments |
| Chapter 1 Overview of America's International Strategy | |
| For most of the twentieth century, the world was divided by a great struggle over ideas: destructive totalitarian visions versus freedom and equality. That great struggle is over. The militant visions of class, nation, and race which promised utopia and delivered misery have been defeated and discredited. | There's still religion |
| The U.S. national security strategy will be based on a distinctly American internationalism that reflects the union of our values and our national interests. The aim of this strategy is to help make the world not just safer but better. | American exceptionalism lives. |
| ... the United States will: expand the circle of development by opening societies ... | So, we will be intervening? |
| Chapter 2 Champion Aspirations for Human Dignity | |
| America must stand firmly for the nonnegotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law; limits on the absolute power of the state; free speech; freedom of worship; equal justice; respect for women; religious and ethnic tolerance; and respect for private property. | No mention of democracy - although further down it's stated that it will be "rewarded" and is something "we cherish." |
| Chapter 3 Strengthen Alliances to Defeat Global Terrorism and Work to Prevent Attacks Against Us and Our Friends | |
| The struggle against global terrorism is different from any other war in our history. | The Barbary Pirates come to mind ("an unconventional foe") |
| We will disrupt and destroy terrorist organizations by: supporting moderate and modern government, especially in the Muslim world, to ensure that the conditions and ideologies that promote terrorism do not find fertile ground in any nation | Looks like a clash of civilizations from here. |
| Chapter 4 Work with others to Defuse Regional Conflicts | |
| In the Western Hemisphere we have formed flexible coalitions with countries that share our priorities, particularly Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Chile, and Colombia. | !! |
| Chapter 5 Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us, Our Allies, and Our Friends with Weapons of Mass Destruction | |
| For centuries, international law recognized that nations need not suffer an attack before they can lawfully take action to defend themselves against forces that present an imminent danger of attack. Legal scholars and international jurists often conditioned the legitimacy of preemption on the existence of an imminent threat—most often a visible mobilization of armies, navies, and air forces preparing to attack. | But responding to mobilization was the cause of WWI, and was later judged to be ill-advised. |
| The United States will not use force in all cases to preempt emerging threats, nor should nations use preemption as a pretext for aggression. | The new global debate? Preempting emerging threats vs. unwarranted aggression. |
| ... in an age where the enemies of civilization openly and actively seek the world’s most destructive technologies, the United States cannot remain idle while dangers gather. | So it is a clash of civilizations (sort of). |
| Chapter 6 Ignite a New Era of Global Economic Growth through Free Markets and Free Trade | |
| "When ... opportunity is hoarded by a privileged few, no amount ... of development aid is ever enough." President Bush, Monterrey, Mexico, March 22, 2002 | No kidding. Bush knows what it's like to be a member of "a privileged few" |
| We will use our economic engagement with other countries to underscore the benefits of policies that generate higher productivity and sustained economic growth, including: tax policies—particularly lower marginal tax rates—that improve incentives for work and investment; | This is absurd. Tax rates have a relationship to the amount of government services the people want. To insist otherwise is to interfere with a state's domestic policies. |
| We will strengthen our own energy security and the shared prosperity of the global economy by working with our allies, trading partners, and energy producers to expand the sources and types of global energy supplied, especially in the Western Hemisphere, Africa, Central Asia, and the Caspian region. | Will somebody please note this item? |
| Economic growth should be accompanied by global efforts to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations associated with this growth, containing them at a level that prevents dangerous human interference with the global climate. Our overall objective is to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions relative to the size of our economy, cutting such emissions per unit of economic activity by 18 percent over the next 10 years, by the year 2012. Our strategies for attaining this goal will be to: promote renewable energy production and clean coal technology, as well as nuclear power—which produces no greenhouse gas emissions, while also improving fuel economy for U.S. cars and trucks; | Coal has the highest CO2 output of all the fossil fuels. In this document no-greenhouse-gas nuclear and big-greenhouse-gas coal is promoted at the same time. Also, it will be interesting to see when - if ever - the administration promotes higher vehicle fuel economy. |
| Chapter 7 Expand the Circle of Development by Opening Societies and Building the Infrastructure of Democracy | |
| Literacy and learning are the foundation of democracy and development. | Only mention of democracy in the chapter. |
| For the first time, donors can link a portion of their contributions to [International Development Association] to the achievement of actual development results, and part of the U.S. contribution is linked in this way. | That's a formula for cutting back funding. |
| Chapter 8 Develop Agendas for Cooperative Action with the Other Main Centers of Global Power | |
| The United States has undertaken a transformation in its bilateral relationship with India based on a conviction that U.S. interests require a strong relationship with India. ... We have a common interest in the free flow of commerce, including through the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean. | What sea lanes? Unlike Northern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Bosporus, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf, there are no choke points in the Indian Ocean. What are they thinking? |
| Chapter 9 Transform America's National Security Institutions to Meet the Challenges and Opportunities of the Twenty-First Century | |
... our military must: dissuade future military competition;
Our forces will be strong enough to dissuade potential adversaries from pursuing a military build-up in hopes of surpassing, or equaling, the power of the United States. | That's the way you dissuade competition: just be strong "enough" - no diplomacy required. |
| ... to meet the many security challenges we face, the United States will require bases and stations within and beyond Western Europe and Northeast Asia | Are we going back to the Philippines? |
| The war on terrorism is not a clash of civilizations. It does, however, reveal the clash inside a civilization, a battle for the future of the Muslim world. This is a struggle of ideas and this is an area where America must excel. | It's hard to see how America can have much say about a dispute within the Muslim world. |
