US Defense Policy

     Since the end of the cold war, the United States has lacked a consistent national security strategy that has had widespread appeal amongst the American People. The events of 9/11 and the subsequent war on terror have given the President the opportunity to fashion and articulate a national security strategy in order to protect the interests of our country.

     It has been approximately six years since the Bush Doctrine was first fully conceived, but there is still a debate within the administration as to how the principles should be implemented. Nobody seems to debate that given the rise of destructive weaponry, sensitive information and flow of capital, it is much easier for terrorist networks and rogue states to materialize more rapidly than in the past. As the world’s leading military and economic power, the United States is more likely to be the target of these terrorist organizations. Taking this into consideration, it is imperative that the US combines a policy of preventative war, deterrence and containment, and a cooperative world order.

BRADLEY O. BABSON, 2005, Second Vice President. Brad is a consultant on East Asia and global development issues, currently involved in Track II diplomacy with North Korea and economic engagement diplomacy with Myanmar. He served 26 years with the World Bank, most recently as Senior Advisor, East Asia and Pacific Region, with assignments including Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Brad holds an MPA from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a BA from Williams College.