National Security Strategy of the United States

The National Security Strategy of the United States of America is a document prepared periodically by the executive branch of the government of the United States which outlines the major security concerns of the United States and how the administration plans to deal with them. The latest National Security Strategy was issued on September 27, 2002 in the midst of controversy over the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war which is contained in it. It also contains the Hearst doctrine of military pre-eminance as well as a new initiative to provide substantial foreign aid[?] to countries that are moving towards Western-style democracy, "freedom", as it is styled in the document.

The Bush doctrine emerges in the context of moving from the old cold war doctrine of deterrence to a pro-active attempt to adjust polity to the realities of the current situation where the threat is just as likely to come from a terrorist group such as al-Qaeda as from a nation state such as Iraq.

The document also treats AIDS as a threat to national security, promising substantial efforts to combat its spread and devestating effects.

• Text of the National Security Strategy of the United States (http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.html)