One thing is certain, crisis and conflict in many areas of the world will be with us well into the foreseeable future. The challenge will be the degree to which we are able to recognize the need, in collaboration with friends and allies, to organize ourselves more effectively to respond to this reality. A critical tool in responding to this challenge is the foreign assistance program. U.S. Security Needs and Interests in the New Millennium New definition needs to be given to what constitutes U.S. national security and the foreign policy framework within which our fundamental security interests are protected. Interests alone do not define adequately the long-term goals of U.S. foreign policy.
Interests can shift as circumstances change and new challenges emerge.
On the other hand, there are enduring needs around which American interests have to be woven and articulated. A dynamic economic engine capable generating new wealth with the requisite trading system. Strong friends and allies. Predictable relations with others. This new international environment has major consequences for how the United States defines its economic and security needs.