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Skriven 2006-03-16 23:33:04 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060316) for Thu, 2006 Mar 16
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Fact Sheet: The President's National Security Strategy
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For Immediate Release
March 16, 2006

Fact Sheet: The President's National Security Strategy



>The ideals that have inspired our history _ freedom, democracy, and human
dignity _ are increasingly inspiring individuals and nations throughout the
world. _ We choose leadership over isolationism, and the pursuit of free
trade and open markets over protectionism. We choose to deal with
challenges now rather than leaving them for future generations. We fight
our enemies abroad instead of waiting for them to arrive in our country. We
seek to shape the world, not merely be shaped by it; to influence events
for the better instead of being at their mercy._
President George W. Bush
Letter Introducing The National Security Strategy
March 16, 2006

Presidential Action

On March 16, 2006, the White House released President Bush's second term
National Security Strategy (NSS), which reflects the President's most
solemn obligation: to protect the security of the American people.

The NSS explains how we are working to protect the American people, advance
American interests, enhance global security, and expand global liberty and
prosperity. The strategy is founded upon two pillars:
 1. The first pillar is promoting freedom, justice, and human dignity _
    working to end tyranny, to promote effective democracies, and to extend
    prosperity through free and fair trade and wise development policies.
      þ The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the
        success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our
        world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
      þ In the world today, the fundamental character of regimes matters as
        much as the distribution of power among them. Free governments are
        accountable to their people, govern their territory effectively,
        and pursue economic and political policies that benefit their
        citizens. Free governments do not oppress their people or attack
        other free nations. Peace and international stability are most
        reliably built on a foundation of freedom.
 2. The second pillar of the strategy is confronting the challenges of our
    time by leading a growing community of democracies.
      þ Many of the problems we face _ from the threat of pandemic disease,
        to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to terrorism, to
        human trafficking, to natural disasters _ reach across borders.
        Effective multinational efforts are essential to solve these
        problems. Yet history has shown that only when we do our part will
        others do theirs. America will continue to lead.

The President's National Security Strategy specifically focuses on the
following areas:

Champion Aspirations for Human Dignity
  þ The United States champions freedom because doing so reflects our
    values and advances our interests.
      þ Championing freedom advances our interests because the survival of
        liberty at home increasingly depends on the success of liberty
        abroad.
      þ Because democracies are the most responsible members of the
        international system, promoting democracy is the most effective
        long-term measure for strengthening international stability,
        reducing regional conflicts, countering terrorism and
        terror-supporting extremism, and extending peace and prosperity.
  þ To protect our Nation and honor our values, the United States seeks to
    extend freedom across the globe by leading an international effort to
    end tyranny and to promote effective democracy. We will employ the full
    array of political, economic, diplomatic, and other tools at our
    disposal. Effective democracies:
      þ Honor and uphold basic human rights, including freedom of religion,
        conscience, speech, assembly, association, and press;
      þ Are responsive to their citizens, submitting to the will of the
        people, especially when people vote to change their government;
      þ Exercise effective sovereignty and maintain order within their own
        borders, protect independent and impartial systems of justice,
        punish crime, embrace the rule of law, and resist corruption; and
      þ Limit the reach of government, protecting the institutions of civil
        society, including the family, religious communities, voluntary
        associations, private property, independent business, and a market
        economy.
  þ Elections are the most visible sign of a free society and can play a
    critical role in advancing effective democracy. But elections alone are
    not enough _ they must be reinforced by other values, rights, and
    institutions to bring about lasting freedom. Our goal is human liberty
    protected by democratic institutions.
  þ We have a responsibility to promote human freedom. Yet freedom cannot
    be imposed; it must be chosen. The form that freedom and democracy take
    in any land will reflect the history, culture, and habits unique to its
    people.

Strengthen Alliances to Defeat Global Terrorism and Work to Prevent Attacks
Against Us and Our Friends
  þ We are a nation at war. We have made progress in the war against
    terror, but we are in a long struggle. America is safer, but not yet
    safe.
  þ In the short run, the fight involves using military force and other
    instruments of national power to kill or capture the terrorists, deny
    them safe haven or control of any nation, prevent them from gaining
    access to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and cut off their sources
    of support.
  þ In the long run, winning the war on terror means winning the battle of
    ideas, for it is ideas that can turn the disenchanted into murderers
    willing to kill innocent victims.
      þ Terrorists exploit political alienation. Democracy gives people an
        ownership stake in society.
      þ Terrorists exploit grievances that can be blamed on others.
        Democracy offers the rule of law, the peaceful resolution of
        disputes, and the habits of advancing interests through compromise.
      þ Terrorists exploit sub-cultures of conspiracy and misinformation.
        Democracy offers freedom of speech, independent media, and the
        marketplace of ideas.
      þ Terrorists exploit an ideology that justifies murder. Democracy
        offers respect for human dignity.
  þ The advance of freedom and human dignity through democracy is the
    long-term solution to the transnational terrorism of today. To create
    the space and time for that long-term solution to take root, there are
    four steps we will take in the short term: We will 1) prevent attacks
    by terrorist networks before they occur; 2) deny WMD to rogue states
    and to terrorist allies who would use them without hesitation; 3) deny
    terrorist groups the support and sanctuary of rogue states; and 4) deny
    the terrorists control of any nation that they would use as a base and
    launching pad for terror.

Work with Others to Defuse Regional Conflicts
  þ If left unaddressed, regional conflicts can lead to failed states,
    humanitarian disasters, and ungoverned areas that can become safe
    havens for terrorists. We will work to address regional conflicts at
    three levels of engagement: conflict prevention and resolution;
    conflict intervention; and post-conflict stabilization and
    reconstruction.
  þ Patient efforts to end conflicts should not be mistaken for tolerance
    of the intolerable.
  þ Genocide must not be tolerated.

Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us, Our Allies, and Our Friends with
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
  þ We are committed to keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of
    the hands of the world's most dangerous people.
      þ The best way to block aspiring nuclear states or nuclear terrorists
        is to deny them access to the essential ingredient of fissile
        material.
      þ We are countering the spread of biological weapons by improving our
        capacity to detect and respond to biological attacks, securing
        dangerous pathogens, and limiting the spread of materials useful
        for biological weapons.
      þ We are working to identify and disrupt terrorist networks that seek
        chemical weapons capabilities, and we are seeking to deny them
        access to materials needed to make these weapons.
  þ If necessary, under long-standing principles of self defense, we do not
    rule out the use of force before attacks occur. When the consequences
    of an attack with WMD are potentially so devastating, we cannot afford
    to stand idly by as grave dangers materialize.

Ignite a New Era of Global Economic Growth through Free Markets and Free
Trade
  þ We are working to open markets and integrate the global economy through
    the Doha Development Agenda of the World Trade Organization and through
    regional and bilateral Free Trade Agreements. To promote energy
    independence, we are working to open, integrate, and diversify energy
    markets.
  þ To ensure stability and growth in the international financial system,
    we will work to promote growth-oriented economic policies worldwide;
    encourage adoption of flexible exchange rates and open markets for
    financial services; strengthen international financial institutions;
    build local capital markets and the formal economy in the developing
    world; and create a more transparent, accountable, and secure
    international financial system.

Expand the Circle of Development by Opening Societies and Building the
Infrastructure of Democracy
  þ Development reinforces diplomacy and defense, reducing long-term
    threats to our national security by helping to build stable,
    prosperous, and peaceful societies. Improving the way we use foreign
    assistance will make it more effective in strengthening responsible
    governments, responding to suffering, and improving people's lives.
  þ Long-term development must include encouraging governments to make wise
    choices and assisting them in implementing those choices. We will
    encourage and reward good behavior rather than reinforce negative
    behavior.

Develop Agendas for Cooperative Action with the Other Centers of Global
Power
  þ The struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great
    ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century and finds
    the great powers all on the same side _ opposing the terrorists. This
    circumstance differs profoundly from the ideological struggles of the
    20th century, which saw the great powers divided by ideology as well as
    by national interest.
  þ We enjoy unprecedented levels of cooperation with other nations on many
    of our highest national security priorities.
  þ Going forward, the NSS describes our strategy for cooperating with
    partners in critical regions of the world and discusses the freedom
    agenda as it relates to different regional contexts.

Transform America's National Security Institutions to Meet the Challenges
and Opportunities of the 21st Century
  þ We have taken a number of steps in the last four years to transform our
    key national security institutions, including establishing the
    Department of Homeland Security; launching the most significant
    reorganization of the Intelligence Community since the 1947 National
    Security Act; and completing the Department of Defense's 2006
    Quadrennial Defense Review. We must extend and enhance the
    transformation of key institutions, both domestically and abroad.
      þ At home, we will sustain the transformation already under way in
        the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Justice,
        including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Intelligence
        Community.
      þ We will continue to reorient the Department of State toward
        transformational diplomacy, which promotes effective democracy and
        responsible sovereignty. And we will improve the capacity of
        agencies to plan, prepare, coordinate, integrate, and execute
        responses covering the full range of crisis contingencies and
        long-term challenges.
      þ Abroad, we will promote meaningful reform of the United Nations to
        improve its accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. We will
        enhance the role of democracies and democracy promotion through
        international and multilateral institutions. And we will establish
        results-oriented partnerships to meet new challenges and
        opportunities.

Engage the Opportunities and Confront the Challenges of Globalization
  þ Globalization presents many opportunities. Much of the world's
    prosperity and improved living standards in recent years derives from
    the expansion of global trade, investment, information, and technology.
  þ Globalization has also exposed us to new challenges and changed the way
    old challenges touch our interests and values, while also greatly
    enhancing our ability to respond. Examples include public health
    challenges like pandemics that recognize no borders; illicit trade,
    whether in drugs, human beings, or sex, that exploits the modern era's
    greater ease of transport and exchange; and environmental destruction,
    whether caused by human behavior or cataclysmic mega-disasters such as
    floods, earthquakes, or tsunamis.
  þ Effective democracies are better able to deal with these challenges
    than are repressive or poorly governed states. These challenges require
    effective democracies to come together in innovative ways.
  þ The United States will lead the effort to reform existing institutions
    and create new ones _ including forging new partnerships between
    governmental and nongovernmental actors, and with transnational and
    international organizations.

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