A New American Arsenal
A New American Arsenal is a bipartisan effort to transform the way Americans think about and achieve their national security. Gone are the days when our security could be measured by the number of bombers and battleships in our arsenal. Today, our national security requires the coordinated use of all the elements of American power and a new bipartisan consensus at home.
The next American President will face a complex national security agenda beyond the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Terrorism associated with the violent jihadist movement remains a clear and present danger to the United States. Energy dependence weakens our national security, entangles us in unstable regions of the world, and contributes to climate change. Changes in the Earth’s climate pose a threat to humanity on an epic scale. The spread of nuclear weapons threatens the United States directly, destabilizes the international system, and increases the risk of theft or diversion of nuclear weapons to extremists and terrorists.
These are the challenges of the twenty-first century. How we address them over the next two years will determine the course of America’s national security for decades.
Given the scale of these challenges, they will not be met successfully by the United States—or its military—alone. They will not be solved in the course of the next presidential administration or by a single political party. They require a nation unified in purpose and strengthened by allies.
A New American Arsenal lays the framework to meet these challenges. It is a roadmap for the next President and a tool to create a broader understanding of what Americans ought to be demanding from their leaders on national security.
This new century demands a new understanding of security, a robust and meaningful national consensus, and a new commitment to the coordinated use of the strength of our arms, the force of our diplomacy, the might of our economy, and the power of our ideals. Together, these are the instruments of the New American Arsenal that will best protect our security and our freedoms in the twenty-first century.
Download a copy of the full report here.
