U.S. National Security Structure: A New Model for the 21st Century

Abstract

Abstract : The end of the Cold War has caused the United States national security community - the Departments of Defense and State and the National Security Council - to struggle to reorient itself for the threats and challenges of a very dynamic strategic future. Indeed, this is an unprecedented era. While the threat of nuclear war has been virtually eliminated, and our sole military contemporary has fallen, the world is arguably far more unstable. Long-simmering local or regional disputes, that were muted by the superpowers during the Cold War, are resurfacing. In addition, the proliferation of advanced technologies to all parts of the globe make the threat of confrontation, particularly through the use of weapons of mass destruction, more profound. What is certain is that today's threats, and those that will dominate the early 21st century, are very different from those of the Cold War. These differences demand a visionary US national security response. In my opinion, such a response does not appear in the offing. This essay paper argues that the US national security community, despite statements to the contrary, continues to be blinded by the Cold War and the structures that have become comfortable, and for which there have developed strong and vocal constituencies. Instead, the United States is missing a most fortuitous period of strategic pause; a time without a peer competitor, to posture the nation for the broad spectrum of threats that are being ushered in with the new millennium.