ABSTRACT
The events of September 11, 2001 dramatically altered the landscape of American national security. However, in many ways, this traumatic event may have clarified a flailing policy agenda, while reinvigorating the unilateralist position that is such a prevalent part of traditional U.S. national security policy. This entry will examine the transformation of national security policy from the post-Cold War to the post-9/11 era. The primary method for examining this change will be the presidential doctrines/strategies that guided American national security policy during this period of history. This entry will conclude by analyzing the parallels between the early Cold War doctrines and the current National Security Strategy of the Bush administration. Although it appears that both exhibit similar understandings of how to engage the world, one primary difference exists—the employment of preemptive strikes.
