One interesting aspect of the discussion is that in the International Security class I am teaching for AMU, we speculated a week ago on the neture of the new NSS. My initial reading of the WP and NYT commentary is that it will hark back to the Clinton NSS of engagement and enlargement. Obviously,any direct support for preemption (preventive war) will be gone, but questions remain as to whether the option will be retained in an implicit and un/understated way. The other major emphasis in the Bush 43, Clinton, and Reagan NSS was strong support for democracy promotion. Will it be in the Obama NSS? Or will this NSS address the issue in human rights terms while downplaying democracy as did the Carter Administration and the Dukakis candidacy? Or, unlikely, will it tend to ignore these value issues for a Realist stance as did Bush 41? Going out on a minor limb, I think the new NSS will mention democracy but not give it the emphasis that his Republican and Democratic predecessors did.

Cheers

JohnT