Die verdedigingsbeleid van die VSA met spesifieke verwysing na die post-Koue Oorlog-era

In this article the focus falls on the defence policy ofthe US in the post-Cold War-era. It is argued that the aim of the current US defence policy is the prevention of conflict. The external force projection of the US in the post-Cold War era is aimed at achieving a shaw offorce rather than the destruction of opponents. A distinction is made between defence policy that is primarily concerned with the nature and utilization ofthe US's armed forces and what has become known in the US as national security policy. Some of the prominent and lasting factors that continuously influence US defence policy are emphasized. The nature of the US government, interservice rivalry and the military industrial complex, in particulal} are discussed. The Cold War forms the point of departure for the discussion of the US defence policy in the post-Cold War-era. The impact of an unsure, volatile and unpredictable security environment as well as the down-sizing of the US armed forces are put forward as the main reasonsf or the shift from the containment of communism to conflict prevention in the current US defence policy