Great Decisions participants support shifting U.S. regional strategy

As the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) wind down combat operations in Afghanistan, the Alliance is facing a shift in its present-day security challenges. But NATO’s greatest challenge, said 73 percent of National Opinion Ballot respondents, is the crisis in purpose and direction it currently faces.

The recent struggle with Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the signing of a bilateral security treaty is one of many difficult hurdles for the Alliance. Tight budgets, particularly in euro zone countries, and political impasse in the United States have raised concerns about how many resources countries are willing to commit not only to secure a stable Afghanistan, but also to national security overall.

Despite alarms sounded in the U.S. defense community over cutting spending, 77 percent of ballot participants favored reducing U.S. defense spending, even at the risk of reducing NATO’s military capacity. Yet, as a balloter from Dryfork, WV, wrote, “As we constrict, the military needs to get leaner and smarter in the use of force.” Thus, the focus in a post-sequester era is on retaining capabilities and responding to new threats at home and abroad. 

In addition to a leaner and smarter military, a majority (58 percent) of ballot participants expressed support for the United States shifting its priorities away from NATO and Europe. Recent U.S. policy—from the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia” to counterterrorism work in the Middle East and parts of Africa—has exemplified a national security strategy that looks east, not just to our European allies.

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