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National Security Strategy 1987

Title: National Security Strategy of the United States

Published: Jan. 1, 1987

Administration: Ronald Reagan

Download: PDF

Summary: Because it was the first report, with a deadline only shortly after the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, the 1987 report was rushed and only reflected then-current strategic thinking. It made little or no attempt to describe the means of integrating the various tools of statecraft available to national security planners. Instead, it strong emphasized military instruments of power. Additionally, it made no attempt to document, much less integrate strategy across geographic regions. (Snider, 7).