Trump to unveil National Security Strategy

President Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech Monday explaining the administration's new National Security Strategy.

Trump's speech comes amid increased tensions with Iran and North Korea, and as the United States remains engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, previewed the strategy earlier this month at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, stating the NSS will "focus on protecting our homeland, advancing American prosperity, preserving peace through strength . . . and finally enhancing American influence."

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and a small cadre of experts are nearing the completion of the Pentagon's National Defense Strategy, which will use the NSS as a foundation to posture the U.S. military for foreign conflicts, deterrence of potential adversaries and modernization investments.

Mattis wrote in a Jan. 31 memo that the objective of the NDS would be to "to build a larger, more capable, and more lethal joint force."

Washington insiders who have seen elements of the unfinished NDS tell Inside Defense it will create a framework that requires the Pentagon to focus on modernization and readiness over a more traditional buildup of military forces.

Congress and the White House, however, remain engaged in tense budget negotiations over fiscal year 2018 and FY-19 spending that could provide DOD with a funding boost for a larger number of additional troops.

Still, a source with knowledge of internal DOD debates said the NDS would likely upset those who continue to advocate for a traditional buildup of force structure that would posture the United States to simultaneously defeat two enemies in two different theaters of war.