sts (Owens, 1998, p. 25).
The first test of this new national security strategy was the Persian Gulf Crisis in 1990-91. Iraq did not pose a threat to the survival of either the United States or any of its most important European allies. However, it did pose a threat to vital U.S. interests in the region which provided an economic resource to the U.S. and its allies. The primary aim of the U.S. in the Gulf crisis was to counter a move by Iraq to dominate the Persian Gulf. The successful prosecution of the Gulf War in early 1991 reinforced the idea that the national military strategy should be aimed at deterring regional threats (Owens, 1998, pp. 25-26).
The National Security Strategy (NSS) of the Clinton Administration is based upon the twin concepts of "engagement" and "enlargement." Engagement refers to selective involvement in multinational agreements and relationships which promote U.S. interests; enlargement refers to the goal of enlarging the number of nations governed by democratic processes and the free market. This policy reflects the Administration's overriding interest in international economics and the idea that economic stability is the best condition for ensuring national security in today's world. Of these two concepts, the most important to the administration is enlargement. However, the concept of enlargement is the one which primarily affects the national military strategy (
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