“Violent extremism and an evolving terrorist threat raise a persistent risk of attacks on America and our allies,” Obama writes in the report’s introduction. “Escalating challenges to cybersecurity, aggression by Russia, the accelerating impacts of climate change, and the outbreak of infectious diseases all give rise to anxieties about global security. We must be clear-eyed about these and other challenges,” the President adds.
But in a reminder of his deliberative decision-making style, the President cautions the U.S. must “make hard choices among many competing priorities.”
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“We will take necessary actions to protect our businesses and defend our networks against cyber-theft of trade secrets for commercial gain whether by private actors or the Chinese government,” the national security report states.
While an annual national security strategy report to Congress is mandated by law, this is the first such report from the White House since 2010. Former President George W. Bush also declined to provide annual strategy reports.
