Sir BH Liddell Hart said that “the role of grand strategy – high strategy – is to coordinate and direct all the resources of a nation, or to 'a group of nations, towards the achievement of the political object...' These resources are generally known as 'instruments of national power' and include diplomatic, informational, military and economic (DIME) instruments of power. U.S. grand strategy should be integrated into national security strategy, which includes the development, application, and coordination of instruments of national power to achieve objectives that contribute to national security. The President is primarily responsible for national security policy and the conduct of foreign relations. However, for national security decisions, it also works and considers a large number of executive and non-executive actors, members of Congress, while keeping abreast of special interests and public opinion. This process can be extremely difficult due to, among other things, complex bureaucratic, psychological and cultural factors. Proper understanding of these complex factors and integration of all instruments of national power will lead to a more effective decision-making process. Examining these factors along with the Instruments of National Power (DIME), this article will first assess the national security decision-making process for selecting options during the 2010 Afghanistan surge; then it will evaluate and compare the management of the Iranian nuclear program from 2009 to 2013 with the Surge in Afghanistan. Furthermore, this article will analyze the effectiveness of national security decision-making in advancing national strategy in both cases. Shortly after winning the 2008 competition...... middle of paper ......, but regulate their use in such a way as to avoid harming the future state of peace - for its security and prosperity. Joint Publication 1-02: Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. Washington DC: Department of Defense, 2010.CBS NEWS. December 18, 2013. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-to-rejoin-nuclear-negotiations-after-walk-out/ (accessed December 19, 2013). Countdown to withdrawal. November 30, 2013. http://countdowntodrawdown.org/counter.php (accessed December 19, 2013). Hart, B.H. Lidell. Strategy. London: Faber & Faber, 1967. Sanger, David E. Confront and Conceal. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2012. Wasserman. “Teaching Period 6314: Debating State Challenges to U.S. National Security.” Montgomery: Air University Press, 2013. Woodward, Bob. Obama's war. New York: Simon @Schuster, 2010.