On March 20, 2008, the Bush School of Government and Public Service and the European Union Center of Excellence of Texas A&M University teamed with the LBJ School of the University of Texas at Austin and with the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute for a program to examine the choices facing the American voter in foreign and defense policy in the November 2008 elections. This colloquium examined the conditions existing in the contemporary threat environment and how they may shape American security policy for the next presidential administration. Integral to this objective is articulating how U.S. threats, policies, and strategies have changed since 2001, and how the national security system has been slow in adjusting to changing operating requirements. The colloquium highlighted differing notions of national security and the difficulty of aligning and synchronizing competing visions and missions represented by various government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, military services...