On Wednesday, the Project on National Security Reform released its long awaited report entitled "Forging a New Shield."  The report, whose genesis was legislated in the FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, recommends sweeping changes to improve the U.S. National Security System.

The report is based on the belief that the national security of the United States is fundamentally at risk "not only by a profusion of new and unpredictable threats, but by the now undeniable fact that the national security system of the United States is increasingly misaligned with a rapidly changing global security environment."

Translation: our national security system is not working well and is in need of an overhaul.

And why wouldn't it?  The architecture that protects our country and our national interests is well over 60 years old and that structure is proving to be too cumbersome and too stove piped to produce a coherent and integrated national strategy.

After all, our system was built during the Cold War and built for the Cold War.  And while our enemies and our security environment have changed, we are left with a legacy processes that are not keeping up with the realities of today.

The report's main theme: "The United States therefore needs a bold, but carefully crafted plan of comprehensive reform to institute a national security system that can manage and overcome the challenges of our time."

The authors some of the best minds in the National Security arena - go on to say that, " We propose such a bold reform in this report; if implemented, it would constitute the most far- reaching governmental design innovation in national security since the passage of the National Security Act in 1947."

Strong language.  But this task calls for clarity of thought and clarity of expression.

Because the United States is now at a point where even the best of national leaders will be hamstrung by the system that serves them. 

And as the report bring out, no amount of "tinkering" with the current system will give us the national security structure that we need.

And from the report: "For all these reasons, we must learn to think differently about national security and devise new means to  "ensure it.

I am tempted to attach all of the recommendations here for your reading pleasure but that would, I believe, be a disservice, as this is one document that deserves a thorough reading.  That said, to those who are short on time, PNSR has produced an Executive Summary, that succinctly lays out the foundation of the report as well as a summary of the recommendations.

In summation, PNSR has produced a groundbreaking work that will undoubtedly be mandatory reading for policy makers, legislators, and national security professionals; and for those like me on the periphery whose jobs or interests will require being well-versed in the reports findings.

Roger D. Carstens is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.