Russia, hackers cited as threats in Obama's security strategy

Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine, terrorist outfits like the IS besides hackers are cited as global threats in US President Barack Obama's national security strategy document.
National Security Advisor Susan Rice provided details of a 29-page report yesterday during an event at the Brookings Institute, laying out the Obama administration's foreign policy priorities.
In the wake of Islamic State terrorist group's claims that American hostage Kayla Mueller was killed in a Jordanian air-strike, Rice denounced the militant group and reaffirmed the US' commitment to "degrade and ultimately defeat" the radical group.
"And with the world united in condemnation of its horrific executions, terrorist group should know that their barbarism only fortifies the world's collective resolve," CNN quoted Rice as saying.

"Violent extremism and an evolving terrorist threat raise a persistent risk of attacks on America and our allies," Obama writes in the report's introduction.
"Escalating challenges to cyber security, aggression by Russia, the accelerating impacts of climate change, and the outbreak of infectious diseases all give rise to anxieties about global security. We must be clear-eyed about these and other challenges," he said.

With US officials warning of continued Russian aggression toward Ukraine in recent days, Rice said the US was still weighing whether to expand its military assistance to Ukraine to include lethal arms.
Rice said the administration was clear-eyed that "the challenges ahead will surely continue to be many and great".

"One thing I can guarantee you, President (Barack) Obama is going to leave everything on the field and so will the rest of his team."
The document repeatedly mentioned Russia's intervention in Ukraine as a key foreign policy challenge for the administration.
As the White House is weighing whether to ship defensive military weapons to Ukraine in its battle against Russian-backed separatists, the national security strategy hints at potential new assistance for "partners" such as the government in Kiev.
In the strategy document, IS is referred to as one of "a growing number of regionally focused and globally connected groups- many with an al-Qaeda pedigree... Which could pose a threat to the homeland."

In the aftermath of North Korea's suspected hack attack on Sony Pictures in response to the film, "The Interview," the Obama administration also vows to meet the cyber security threat in the strategy document.
Still, the White House leaves no doubt where it believes many of the world's hacking threats originate - not North Korea but China.
While an annual national security strategy report to Congress is mandated by law, this is the first such report from the White House since 2010. Former President George W Bush also declined to provide annual strategy reports.