United States Foreign Policy

America 's National Interest

The national interest of the United States always begins with a strong military that can provide national defense and deter our enemies . Every president 's primary responsibility is to protect our country . Whenever our vital interests are threatened , at home or abroad , the president is within his rights and bound by his duty to protect the country and to act militarily if necessary . One president who always placed national defense as his paramount goal was Ronald Reagan . His resolute actions helped win the Cold War as he promoted

peace through strength (White House , 2009

Since the attacks of September 2001 , the war on terror has become a very important component of our national interest . Radical Islamic jihadists proved that they are willing to kill large numbers of innocent civilians in the United States and across the world as they wage their war on free countries and western cultures and values . We must continue to find these enemies and their havens throughout the world and neutralize or kill terrorists who wish harm on our country and its enduring ideals

In that same vein , a third national priority is to monitor and thwart countries that either covertly or overtly oppose our country or our close , significant allies . A fourth priority accompanies that goal as sophisticated intelligence gathering is required for our nation to diplomatically or militarily oppose dangerous rogue nations like Iran Bellicose actions and statements , like Iran 's wish for Israel to be wiped off the map...