National Security Part 1

National Security Part I--The Cost of Freedom

By Craig S. Byrnes

Freedom by nature should be free, but history continually proves the cost is in fact quite high and rising on a daily basis. According to Daniel W. Drezner in an essay entitled “The New New World Order” in the March/April 2007 edition of Foreign Policy magazine, “growing anti-Americanism has revitalized groupings of states traditionally hostile to the United States, such as the Nonaligned Movement.”

Current World environments call for a strong national defense policy that can accomplish difficult military and non-military tasks at home and abroad without skipping a beat. One of the strongest elements of US defense policy is its ability to retain a military force unrivaled by any other state in the International system. According to Drezner more than 250,000 troops were stationed in 45 countries in support of US interests. In order to maintain an agile stance on the world battlefield, and ensure rapid adequate response to changing global threats, the Bush Administration has enacted swift reform of troop deployments, focusing on re-aligning troops stationed in former Cold War battlegrounds back to the homeland or to other hotspots.

President George W. Bush took over a defense program that needed a little shoring up, and he began—along with Vice President Dick Cheney and then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld—to tackle bureaucracy within the pentagon that threatened the security of American lives here and overseas. Because of the copious number of challenges and opportunities presented by the post 9/11 world, it was necessary to engage in a global war on terrorism—a conflict which greatly increases the cost of freedom.

Rising costs have been met by a robust defense budget and a healthy sum for the newly formed Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Total overt national security costs—including the National Defense Budget for fiscal year 2008 requested by the Bush Administration—add up to $802.9 billion a roughly $108 billion dollar increase since 2006. According to Winslow Wheeler, Director, Straus Military Reform Project, in an analysis originally appearing in the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, a consensus on the size of the budget has mounted within Washington. According to Mr. Wheeler the consensus, “has little to do with facts and much to do with political maneuvering, which has been orchestrated with brilliant success by the very same White House that everyone in Washington discounts as washed up.” Funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—approximately $142 billion—was not included in the Defense budget submitted to Congress for $481 billion, but is included as an emergency fund. Also included under total budget authority is $17.4 billion for the Department of Energy—the home of the US nuclear arsenal—for nuclear weapons, $36.4 billion for DHS and $38.3 billion for International Affairs according to a budget table included in the March/April 2007 issue of The Defense Monitor, a newsletter for the Center for Defense Information.

In order to fully appreciate the spending on defense you need to compare with China—who holds second place. According to a New York Times article on March 5, 2007 entitled “Beijing Boosts Military Budget Mightily” by Jim Yardley and David Lague, “Jiang Enzhu, a spokesman for the National People’s Congress, the Communist Party-controlled national legislature, said China’s military budget would rise this year by 17.8 percent to just under $45 billion.” This number is miniscule in comparison, but the article goes on to say, “military analysts in the United States and Europe say China’s public military budget reflects only a fraction of its overall defense spending and that the real figure is likely to be two to four times higher.”

Another key strength in US defense policy is preserving, “a resilient network of alliances and partnerships,” according to the National Defense Strategy of the United States of America. This geopolitical network consists of the European Union, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Russia and many more. It is these strategic alliances that provide a multilateral international force capable of confronting threats to international security while further securing the interests of the US.

Leadership in the international community on issues of common concern is a vital policy strength that plays an integral role in securing US influence worldwide. It is this international influence that is detrimental to knocking out threats before they have the opportunity to become catastrophic or ignite into military conflict. Doors are also opened through diplomatic efforts allowing for key advantages in other areas of the national power arena including political, economic, technological and cultural, thus further securing freedom and allowing for a flourishing democracy.

While US defense policy holds these key strengths it is prudent to remember there are considerable “vulnerabilities” within the current system placing American citizens at risk within the homeland and overseas that must be adequately addressed to prevent surprising or devastating security failures—physical and psychological—that will place US freedoms and interests in jeopardy.

Tomorrow : Weaknesses