Introduction
A national security strategy by definition is a document outlining national security issues and the plans or methodology on how to deal with issues. In the US the document is prepared by the executive and then handed over to the congress for discussions. The document gives the main concerns on the US national security and the means to deal with them.
In the recent years, the US has tried to enhance and improve their security alerts due to the increase in rates of crime as well as their involvement in various wars that expose the country to enemies. This paper focuses on why it is so hard to formulate and implement U.S. national Security strategy.
Why is it so Hard to Formulate and Implement U.S. National Security Strategy?
The formulation and implementation of a national security strategy starts by answering a few questions such as who is the enemy, the objectives of the strategy, what is the outcome of a successful strategy, what is to win on security and the evaluation of the risks associated with counter attacks by terrorists (Axe, Malou and Reich 1).
The United States has not yet managed to answer these questions which have made it difficult for the nation to formulate and implement a security strategy (Axe, Malou and Reich 1).
The changes in leadership have led to difficulties in formulation and implementation of national security strategy because; every president comes with his/her team of policy makers. The new team rather than taking over from where the first team hard reached, it goes back to the starting point.
In case a new government comes in before the current team achieves its objectives, the process goes back to the start (U.S. Department of State 1-18). The use of several national security structures that are involved in matter pertaining to security make the formulation and implementation difficult due to the structures differences and inability to come to a consensus on the issues (JCS 1-8).
This even becomes worse if some of the structures proof to be superior to others. This gives support to President Obama idea to merge the National and Homeland Security Councils. Lack of enough anticipation by the US on their enemy makes it hard for them to formulate and implement the national security strategy (Boone 79).
Similarly, in measuring the outcomes of a security strategy, there must be evaluation of the anticipated outcomes as stipulated in the strategy. The US has been unable to anticipate the outcomes of the national security strategy which have led to difficulties in the formulation and implementation (Seth and Treverton 4-6).
Another difficulty faced in the formulation and implementation of national security strategy is the financial problems. National security formulation and implementation requires a lot of money which is even worse when a country engages in a war. The US has also faced financial challenges where the government has to spend wisely the taxpayers’ Dollars to prevent the country from financial crisis (Obama 34).
One of the main objectives of US security is the reverse of biological and nuclear weapons (Obama 23). This makes it difficult for US in the formulation and implementation of national security strategy as it has risks to the whole world. Formulation and implementation of strategies on this requires a good approach not to jeopardise the world security.
Similarly, the advanced technology has enhanced the difficulties in formulation and implementation. The terrorists’ technology has advanced as the security technology advances which make it hard for the security team to counter the terrorists
Works Cited
Axe, David, Malou Innocent, Jason Reich. “Defining Victory to Win a War”. Foreign Policy. 6 Oct. 2009. Web. <https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/06/defining-victory-to-win-a-war/>.
Boone, Bartholomees. U.S. Army War College: Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy (second edition). Washington: US Government Press, 2006. Print.
Obama, Barrack. US National Security Strategy. Washington: The White House, 2010. Print.
Seth, Jones and Gregory Treverton. Measuring National Power. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2005. Print.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Overview of the National Security Structure. The Joint Chiefs of Staff. Web.
U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historians. History of the National Security Council. Washington, Bureau of Public Affairs, 1947-1997.