Issues – Security

III) SECURITY

Security in the 21st century has a whole different meaning than in the past. Security is not limited to physical threats, as in this global world, our way of life can be attacked without a shot needing be fired. We are secure only when we can be self-reliant enough to defend our freedoms and safety without fear of “upsetting” countries with whom we are dependent on.

1) Financial Security
Foreign nations such as China and Japan have financed our lifestyle of living beyond our means as a nation, and extracting more value than we are create. This has resulted in them gaining tremendous leverage in trade negotiations and increasingly dictating the terms of global policy. We must now tread carefully with these large holders of our debt and with each passing day our position becomes increasingly weakened. It is essential that we take the steps to work with China on correcting these practices and simultaneously work to decrease our dependence on them. Returning Washington to a path of fiscal responsibility and investing in the infrastructure to create goods decreases our need for foreign financing and rectifies trade imbalances that will result in economic security.

2) Energy Security
American presidents have constantly talked about the need for energy independence for the past three decades. America first saw the immediate danger of our foreign dependence on oil during the Iran Hostage crisis. Carter talked about the critical need for energy independence, and every campaign year Democrats and Republicans pay it lip service, only to abandon it once the election is won. We have reached yet another breaking point as oil supplies shrink, prices rise, our dollar is critically weakened from trade deficits, and this portion of the world continues to be increasingly hostile to our interests. Tax credits, federal R&D investment, innovation competitions, and consumer-based incentives for advanced technology that decreases the outflow of dollars to hostile areas of the world and creates jobs in America are a must. Sustainable energy is an investment in not only our security, but also future jobs and a shared prosperity.

3) Physical Security
Since September 11, Americans have come to accept that the definition of “war” has changed dramatically. Groups bound by cause or ideology instead of political boundaries attack where and when they see fit with little territorial fear of reprisal. Once they strike, without a nation to strike and defeat, the attacked country gets bogged down in a constant state of battle against shadowy and unknown actors. Fighting against non-state actors means war is more fluid and omnipresent. It is essential we secure our own borders and strategic resources in this world because unlike in the past, we can no longer choose our battlefields. Our enemies look to attack where they can disproportionately harm our economy and everyday way of life. Thus we must secure our water supplies, power grids, technology infrastructure, etc. Our current policies invest most heavily in guarding against past threats instead of looking ahead to what kind of attacks fit our enemies strategy and goals.

We spend more than every other nation on earth combined on our military. Given this, our enemies do not think about attacking us in traditional warfare. They draw us into conflicts for decades that will sap our financial resources, split our forces, and lead to the loss of American lives using a tiny amount of combatants who attack and then melt back into the civilian population. They use methods such as computer attacks that disable our communication networks and weapons systems, and attacking civilian locations (such as September 11) using improvised weapons or deadly substances. The world is now dominated by asymmetric threats. We must shift our investments towards preventing attacks and locating and neutralizing those individuals involved in their planning. An effective intelligence gathering apparatus is critical to this effort, without which it will be impossible to prevent attacks, only respond to them. Combating cyber-terrorism should be a primary focus to negate major investments by other nations and non-nation state actors here to neutralize our military advantage.

New security threats in the 21st century require us to focus on issues such as trade imbalances, currency security, sourcing of critical commodities, and on-the-ground information to complement our traditionally effective military. If America is not prepared to make the tough choices to pivot to these changing threats, we will be forced to react to attacks rather than prevent them.

Conclusion
Rebuilding the core of our national greatness requires hard work. We must return Washington to a path of responsibility, create the conditions for the private sector to thrive, and secure our nation from the myriad of diverse threats that jeopardize our sustainable future. There are no silver bullets to solve these great challenges. However, it is well within our power to get America on track and leave America even stronger for the next generation. We must put aside divisive politics and our current focus on demagoguery to have the serious policy debates that will shape our future. Policy, not politics, will drive America’s future as we build on the tough decisions made in our nation’s history to secure our future, as our forefathers did for us. The path will no doubt be hard, but if our will for a better tomorrow is strong, we will succeed.