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A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" represents an historical first. Never before have the maritime forces of the United States-the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard-come together to create a unified maritime strategy. This strategy stresses an approach that integrates seapower with other elements of national power, as well as those of our friends and allies. It describes how seapower will be applied around the world to protect our way of life, as we join with other like-minded nations to protect and sustain the global, inter-connected system through which we prosper. Our commitment to protecting the homeland and winning our Nation's wars is matched by a corresponding commitment to preventing war.
Our citizens were involved in development of this strategy through a series of public forums known as the "Conversations with the Country." Three themes dominated these discussions: our people want us to remain strong; they want us to protect them and our homeland, and they want us to work with partners around the world to prevent war. These themes, coupled with rigorous academic research, analysis and debate, led to a comprehensive strategy designed to meet the expectations and needs of the American people.
A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower binds our services more closely together than they have ever been before to advance the prosperity and security of our Nation. The demands of an uncertain world and the enduring interests of the American people require nothing less.
INTRODUCTION
The security, prosperity, and vital interests of the United States are increasingly coupled to those of other nations. Our Nation's interests are best served by fostering a peaceful global system comprised of interdependent networks of trade, finance, information, law, people and governance.
We prosper because of this system of exchange among nations, yet recognize it is vulnerable to a range of disruptions that can produce cascading and harmful effects far from their sources. Major power war, regional conflict, terrorism, lawlessness and natural disasters-all have the potential to threaten U.S. national security and world prosperity.
The oceans connect the nations of the world, even those countries that are landlocked. Because the maritime domain-the world's oceans, seas, bays, estuaries, islands, coastal areas, littorals, and the airspace above them-supports 90% of the world's trade, it carries the...