The White House, President George W. Bush Click to print this document

For Immediate Release
March 16, 2006

Fact Sheet: The President’s National Security Strategy

“The ideals that have inspired our history – freedom, democracy, and human dignity – are increasingly inspiring individuals and nations throughout the world. … We choose leadership over isolationism, and the pursuit of free trade and open markets over protectionism. We choose to deal with challenges now rather than leaving them for future generations. We fight our enemies abroad instead of waiting for them to arrive in our country. We seek to shape the world, not merely be shaped by it; to influence events for the better instead of being at their mercy.”

President George W. Bush
Letter Introducing The National Security Strategy
March 16, 2006

Presidential Action

On March 16, 2006, the White House released President Bush’s second term National Security Strategy (NSS), which reflects the President’s most solemn obligation: to protect the security of the American people.

The NSS explains how we are working to protect the American people, advance American interests, enhance global security, and expand global liberty and prosperity. The strategy is founded upon two pillars:

  1. The first pillar is promoting freedom, justice, and human dignity – working to end tyranny, to promote effective democracies, and to extend prosperity through free and fair trade and wise development policies.


    • The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
    • In the world today, the fundamental character of regimes matters as much as the distribution of power among them. Free governments are accountable to their people, govern their territory effectively, and pursue economic and political policies that benefit their citizens. Free governments do not oppress their people or attack other free nations. Peace and international stability are most reliably built on a foundation of freedom.
  2. The second pillar of the strategy is confronting the challenges of our time by leading a growing community of democracies.
    • Many of the problems we face – from the threat of pandemic disease, to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to terrorism, to human trafficking, to natural disasters – reach across borders. Effective multinational efforts are essential to solve these problems. Yet history has shown that only when we do our part will others do theirs. America will continue to lead.

The President’s National Security Strategy specifically focuses on the following areas:

Champion Aspirations for Human Dignity

Strengthen Alliances to Defeat Global Terrorism and Work to Prevent Attacks Against Us and Our Friends

Work with Others to Defuse Regional Conflicts

Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us, Our Allies, and Our Friends with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Ignite a New Era of Global Economic Growth through Free Markets and Free Trade

Expand the Circle of Development by Opening Societies and Building the Infrastructure of Democracy

Develop Agendas for Cooperative Action with the Other Centers of Global Power

Transform America’s National Security Institutions to Meet the Challenges and Opportunities of the 21st Century

Engage the Opportunities and Confront the Challenges of Globalization

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