A new national defense strategy issued by the Pentagon calls for greater U.S. military efforts to keep foreign nations from becoming havens for terrorism or being undermined internally by such additional threats as insurgency, drugs and organized crime.
While U.S. forces have long helped to bolster foreign militaries through a variety of assistance programs, the new emphasis on aiding them against internal threats marks a significant departure from the traditional focus on guarding against potential cross-border aggression.
At a Pentagon briefing yesterday, defense officials made it clear that the revised strategy, which Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld approved earlier this month, reflects the Bush administration's priority -- since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- on taking preventive action around the world to block potential attacks or limit dangerous situations from mushrooming into worse crises that would require even greater U.S. military involvement.
The move to enhance U.S. military influence abroad also raises questions about the extent to which greater U.S. military involvement would be welcomed in foreign countries or seen as an infringement of national sovereignty.
"We're a bit on the horns of a dilemma," said a defense official involved in the review, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "On the one hand, we respect the sovereignty of nation states. On the other hand, 9/11 demonstrates that threats to our direct interests can emanate from non-state actors within nation-states. We're trying to square this by working with nation-states that are cooperative so that they can govern themselves and non-state actors cannot pose threats."
Release of the new strategy document ahead of the review marked another break with past practice. Previous reviews dating back a decade included a debate over strategy. By revising the strategy in advance, Rumsfeld and his senior aides this time have exerted greater guidance at the outset.
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A classified "terms of reference" document for the review, signed by Rumsfeld on March 1 along with the unclassified strategy document, sets forth four "core" problems to be addressed, the defense official said.
The first is building partnerships with foreign nations to combat terrorism and other internal threats. The other three are protecting the U.S. homeland; preventing the use and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and influencing the choices of countries such as Russia and China that, like the United States, are at a "strategic crossroads."
