The National Security Strategy (NSS)

The 2017 National Security Strategy of the United States of America (NSS) rests on four distinct pillars which may also be interpreted as vital American interests. Note homeland security is defined as the first pillar of national security: 

1. Protect the American People, the Homeland, and the American Way of Life;
2. Promote American Prosperity;
3. Preserve Peace through Strength;
4. Advance American Influence.

The 2017 Strategy concludes with a chapter on understanding the strategy in a regional context with specific sections on regions worldwide.

The Strategy addresses key challenges and trends that affect the U.S. and its interests in the world. Most notably, the Strategy identifies strategic competitors China and Russia and the challenges they present to the United States: “Revisionist powers, such as China and Russia, that use technology, propaganda, and coercion to shape a world antithetical to our interests and values.” (NSS, 2017, Fact Sheet)

The Strategy also identifies other threats to U.S. values and interests as well as global security:

• Regional dictators that spread terror, threaten their neighbors, and pursue weapons of mass destruction;
• Jihadist terrorists that foment hatred to incite violence against innocents in the name of a wicked ideology, and transnational criminal organizations that spill drugs and violence into our communities. (NSS, 2017, Fact Sheet)

Perhaps one of the most foundational elements of the Strategy is a recognition that current nation state competitions require the United States to rethink the underlying premise of foreign and security policies of the past two decades. America’s “policies based on the assumption that engagement with rivals and their inclusion in international institutions and global commerce would turn them into benign actors and trustworthy partners. For the most part, this premise turned out to be false.” (NSS, 2017, p. 3) While not expressly stated this statement refers primarily to China and secondarily to Russia.

According to the National Security Strategy of 2017, the greatest transnational threats to the homeland are:

• Jihadist terrorists, using barbaric cruelty to commit murder, repression, and slavery, and virtual networks to exploit vulnerable populations and inspire and direct plots.
• Transnational criminal organizations, tearing apart our communities with drugs and violence and weakening our allies and partners by corrupting democratic institutions.

(NSS, 2017, Fact Sheet)

The new Strategy articulates and advances the Trump Administration’s concept of principled realism. It is a realist strategy because it acknowledges the central role of power in international politics, affirms that strong and sovereign states are the best hope for a peaceful world, and clearly defines US national interests. The Strategy is grounded in advancing American principles which spread peace and prosperity around the globe. (NSS, 2017, Fact Sheet)

The Strategy promoted in this document advocates for defense in depth to eliminate threats through offensive and defensive measures. The layered defense construct ranges from community based organizations through international partnerships. This construct identifies a wide range of threats to US security.

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