Obama to Declare 'Break' from Bush Doctrine?

President Barack Obama will announce a new National Security Strategy report for the first time since taking office on the 27th (local time). The anticipated new security strategy is expected to definitively exclude the preemptive military strike policy of former President George W. Bush's administration.

President Obama currently faces difficult economic conditions and a massive national deficit problem. Against this backdrop, a growing perception among the American public holds that national security is tied to economic soundness, household financial stability, and reducing dependence on oil imports. However, it remains unclear whether President Obama's security strategists will acknowledge that national debt is creating national security issues with countries like China and incorporate this into the new security strategy.

Former President Bush used his first National Security Strategy announcement in 2002, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, to clarify the right to take unilateral and preemptive military action against states or terrorist groups deemed threatening to America. However, President Obama has consistently signaled his intention to distance himself from the 'Bush Doctrine.'

In this context, President Obama's recent assertion that "America cannot act alone in the world" carries a message to other allied nations that the burden of global conflicts should be shared. Yet President Obama continues to wage wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nuclear issues with Iran and North Korea remain deadlocked, and Middle East peace talks are slow to progress.

Critics have raised questions about whether President Obama is damaging U.S. national interests by adopting an overly restrained stance.