Assessing Threats to U.S. Vital Interests: Europe, Asia, Middle East

Heritage

The United States is a global power with global interests. . .

. . . "Scaling its military power to threats requires judgments with regard to the importance and priority of those interests, whether the use of force is the most appropriate and effective way to address the threats to those interests, and how much and what types of force are needed to defeat such threats.

This Index focuses on three fundamental, vital national interests:

• Defense of the homeland;

• Successful conclusion of a major war that has the potential to destabilize a region of critical interest to the U.S.; and

• Preservation of freedom of movement within the global commons: the sea, air, and outer space domains through which the world conducts business.

"The geographical focus of the threats in these areas is further divided into three broad regions: Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. 

"This is not to say that these are America’s only interests. Among many others, the U.S. has an interest in the growth of economic freedom in trade and investment, the observance of internationally recognized human rights, and the alleviation of human suffering beyond our borders. None of these interests, however, can be addressed principally and effectively by the use of military force, nor would threats to these interests result in material damage to the foregoing vital national interests. These additional American interests, however important they may be, therefore are not used in this assessment of the adequacy of current U.S. military power.

"Throughout this Index, we reference two public sources as a mechanism with which to check our work against that of other recognized professional organizations in the field of threat analysis: The Military Balance, published annually by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies,1 and the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community (WWTA).2 The latter serves as a reference point produced by the U.S. government against which each threat assessment in this Index was compared. We note any differences between assessments in this Index and the work of the two primary references in summary comments." . . .