America on the Offense: A New Manifest Destiny

When the Cold War ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and an international rush to abandon communism the stage was set for a profound change in US national security strategy. As of this writing, the basic framework of the new "post Cold War strategy" has been in place for seven years. Yet military officers remain confused and opinion is divided over its fundamental nature and intent. This monograph explores the historical nature of offensive and defensive strategy and compares current strategy to that from the Cold War to see if a shift in its offensive versus defensive orientation has occurred. It provides a historically based evaluation of the nature of both Cold War and current national security strategy. At its core, this monograph explores the possibility that America has embarked on an undeclared--even recognized-strategic level offensive since the end of the Cold War. Beginning with a representative overview of military theorists, the timeless characteristics of offensive and defensive strategy are distilled into a single broad set of principals. The study surmises that defensive strategy can be detected by its emphasis on denial and enforcement of the status quo while offensive strategy is a rejection of the status quo and-as Sun Tzu stated most clearly-a move to "take all under heaven intact." These principals form the criteria for a test against which both Cold War and current national security strategy are evaluated at their highest level of intent. The study concludes that while the Cold War strategy of deterrence and containment was clearly defensive, current national security strategy has made a fimdamental shift to the offensive. Compared to the Cold War, the American concept of "interests have been broadened," the "ends" pursued are now far more aggressive, and the "means" of strategy execution have been expanded. At it heart, the current National Security Strategy document outlines a clear rejection of the status quo that has set America on the path of literally changing the world. The monograph serves as a wakeup call to military officers and planners that American strategy is now clearly on an offensive footing where the stated policy is to use military power outside of the former constraint of defending "vital interests." Such an understanding will enable military planners to better anticipate-and hence plan-future military operations.