The United States has a right to protect its national interest and security Essay

The United States has a right to protect its national interest and security Essay

Let’s begin with the national interest definition; it is a set of country’s economic, military, or cultural goals.
Such elements as country’s survival, security, economic growth, and nation’s wealth depend on the national interest protection. National interests (for example, a freedom of navigation, economic development, etc.), and national security are considered to be of a great importance by leaders from all over the world.
In accordance with Gallup’s research (Jones, 2010), American citizens consider seven major international threats to international security and global stability. (Jones J., ‘In U.S., 6 in 10 View Iran as Critical Threat to U.S. Interests’)
The first threat is an International Terrorism, a strong challenge, which is perceived as a major threat by 81% of Americans.
The second threat is Iran’s military power. The dangerous influence is caused by Iran’s proximity to Afghanistan, Iraq and also by its government ideas and intentions. I should mention as well that some Iranians have fought in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria against the US interests. (‘Top Seven Threats to US National Security and Interests’, Greatpowerpolitics.com)
North Korean military power considered to be the third threat for US. The possible risks include attacks against South Korea, Japan, and US. It is also know that North Korea has shared the weapon technology with the problem countries like Iran, Pakistan, and Syria.
The military power of China was named the forth thread. There are a lot of disputable issues among the US leaders and Chinese government, such as currency issues, global warming, cyber attacks, situation in Tibet, etc. The resources and influence of China are continuously growing, and the countries’ national interests collide. Therefore China’s military, politic and industrial power is one of the main threats for the United States’ future.
The fifth thread for the US national interests is the military power of Russia. Russia is a influential global supplier of military and natural resources and it makes a major player in a global political game. We also can’t ignore the fact that major cities in the world could be destroyed with a nuclear strike, because Russia just has enough resources to do it.
The sixth thread is a conflict between India and Pakistan, which is old and continuous conflict that was a thread for the whole region for decades. But taking into account the fact that current unstable situation in Pakistan influences Afghanistan as well, nd also that India is the US’ strategic partner in South Asia, I suppose it’s definitely a real risk for the United States national security. Pakistan became a base for Al Qaeda and other international extremists in the recent years,
Finally, the seventh threat is Israel vs. Palestinian conflict. This conflict may be considered as the root to many of the US’s problems and also as a factor of global instability, that deeply influence the United States’ national interests in the Middle East region.
Taking into account facing 21st century threats and volatile global environment that were mentioned above, it’s crucial for the US to have a national security strategy that combines development alongside defense and diplomacy. The state has a full and undisputable right to coordinate, manage, implement and, of course, protect its national interests. Under these conditions, it’s clear, that results of US intelligence can be shared only with its strategic countries (that share US set of values and have equal goals, for example, such as the UK, etc.) and only under conditions of practical necessity.
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The sharing of terrorism-related materials is considered to be a high risk factor, because analysis and sharing information are the real challenges the US government has faced already. Therefore this kind of information should be highly protected.
What helps to protect the information that is important for the national security? I think that an issue of paperwork and cyber security should be mentioned here as well. Especially after the scandal with WikiLeaks, the US administration has to continue improving the standards of information security.
The information that became available for the general public through the WikiLeaks website, has discovered such strategic details as key resources and important infrastructure of the US strategic partners that may impact not only these countries national securities, but will also substantially influence the US national interests as well. (WikiLeaks: UK sites of national interest to US. Fm-world.co.uk)
The representatives of US government have criticized the Wikileaks for releasing a list of possible terror targets. Some analysts say that this is exactly the kind of information that terrorists groups are looking for.
In my opinion, it’s undisputable that the nation’s security positions should be strengthened. First of all, cyber infrastructure, federal systems and information should be under the close control, then cyber analytical and technical capabilities have to be enhanced, cyber security should be improved. (‘Establishing Effective Mechanisms for Sharing and Managing Terrorism-Related Information’, Gao.gov)