National Security: Your Opinion
We have concluded a unit of study on Foreign Policy and National Security. According to the article published by the National Issues Forum, America's role in the World for the 21st century is up for debate. Three separate opinions are expressed in the article, with both the pros and the cons listed. Please choose what you feel is the most important threat to the national security of this nation and provide support for your decision. Then, agree or disagree with some one's views on national security.
The article raises many good ideas about which national security threat is the greatest, however I believe that the greatest threat is option one: safeguarding the United States. I interpreted this option to mean that putting America’s safety from attack as the first priority.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many threats like terrorism and nuclear weapons, the US should definitely be concerned. Countries like North Korea and Iran are serious nuclear threats, not only to the US but our allies. If one of these powers attacks our ally, we have almost no choice but to get involved. We need to make sure that our allies are protected from attack as well, and they need to trust that what we’re doing won’t endanger them. This is why peace talks and disarmament treaties should start being conducted today. We learned in class that many analysts think a combination of diplomacy and persuasion can help get things done effectively. At the same time, terrorist threats from organizations like Al-Qaeda are a continuing threat, and it is impossible to wipe them out completely. So, other ideas must be formed to combat the terrorist groups without destabilizing that country. We can learn from past experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The important thing here is to create a plan and put it into action.
This might mean that the US has to start building up the military and sending troops places. This is a big challenge within itself. Some countries might believe that the US are acting as the world police or are trying to impose democracy on other countries. This could be bad because it is important to have others’ respect. In terms of nuclear power, negotiations with these unpredictable leaders can put the US in a risky situation.
I have always thought that national security meant that a country is militarily strong enough to defend the rights of the citizens/government from any foreign attack. I don't believe that the U.S. should invest everything into its army. But having a large strong army is always comforting; it also depends on how the country uses their army. I think that the U.S. is doing a good job when it comes to defending our homeland. Ever since 9/11, airline and border security have been taken a lot more seriously. Of course there are some weak areas that we are trying to resolve, such as the Mexican Drug War which is becoming a bigger problem in our nation. After all no aspect of any nation or government is perfect, there are still many problems left needed to be resolved.
ReplyDeleteI see national security as safeguarding the homeland of the nation. The reading says that combating terrorism may lead us to destabilizing other nations, which I see as a bigger problem, especially because of the way we have been approaching many foreign problems. If the U.S.’s National Homeland Security is strong enough on its own to actually protect and safeguard the citizens and government, then there is no need for us to barge into other countries and make the situation worse. The only exception in going into foreign territories is if we are physically threatened or attacked. If the U.S was prepared, or as strict as we are today about border/airline control, then 9/11 could have possibly been prevented, which would have saved the U.S. a lot of trouble, money, time, and lives. What is done is done; all we can do is improve and become stronger, never forget the past, and learn from it.
Since our country was attacked on 9/11, we felt as if we needed to go to war and put an end to terrorism, which didn’t seem like a bad idea. Terrorism is not just a U.S. threat, but it is a global threat as well. The way in which we perceived on fighting the war throughout the years has changed. First we started off wanting to eliminate terrorist groups, once we found out that this would be nearly impossible, we continued to stay in the Middle East, and soon enough we were forcing our ideologies/democracy onto other countries. By doing this we have exceeded our original goals, and we are now seen as a nation trying to spread its government/ ideas. Some nations see this as if the U.S. is saying, “We do not know how else to help you so we are going to enforce our democratic system on your country because it works for us.” The U.S. is a major global power, and it still needs to help and defend other nations in need. National Security ultimately means protecting nations in need of help and support, but this cannot be done if one of the major influential nations (such as the U.S.) cannot protect and secure its own homeland.
This was a tough one for me. I think that all three - protecting the people of the US, keeping us economically stable, and dealing with world issues - are exceptionally important to national security. I have to say that I agree with all three, but with certain aspects from each.
ReplyDeleteI think that safeguarding the US is the most important. That's what National Security is, keeping us safe, but I think we have to use elements from the other two to achieve this. I definitely believe in the quote from the article, "Our most important goal is to safeguard the people of the United States. Our global objective must always be to maintain the safety of the US and its citizens." I want to live in a country with a government that provides for my needs, but keeps me safe above everything. It's like a parent and child, isn't that their main goal too?
I agree with Stacy in that I think that we should have a focus on what is going on in the world and know our global threats. We should be aware of dangerous countries (North Korea? Iran?) and take precautions against terrorist organizations, especially those who attempt to posses and use nuclear weapons. I think those are very real and important threats to be aware of.
However, I don't think that ALL of our funding should go into the military and that we should become the world's policemen. That is not necessarily to the advantage of the people of this country either. I like the last selection especially (global threats are our greatest challenge) because I think that there a good ways that we can safeguard our country without using military force. Working multilaterally with other nations to tackle world issues (terrorism, global warming, human rights abuses) can make the world a safer and better place, which then keeps the citizens of the US safe. Also, working with other nations of the world to eliminate human rights issues could stop terrorist organizations from forming in that they might find themselves living in a fairer country, one they can be happy with without having to result to violence.
Other countries of the world would also think better of us, and maybe we wouldn't anger so many other people (like we did with people of the Middle East in our handling of Israel) and we wouldn't get attacked in the first place.
Lastly, I think that although a lot of our National Security has to deal with the global world, there needs to be a sector that focuses on domestics and our economy. We can't keep ourselves safe if we don't have the money and resources to do so. As a 'world power' we have to have the means to engage in world affairs, handle threats to the US, and also help other countries. More importantly, we need to focus on our domestic economics so that the government is able to feed, clothe and provide for its people. Having people die in the US due to starvation or from poor living conditions is just as bad as having them die from an attack. Either way, they're still dead. Depressions and natural threats are still viable dangers to the safety of our citizens.
As of right now America is in poor relations and conditions in its status of defending against the threats of its enemies. the war in Afghanistan has been dragging on for almost 10 years with no tangible success in our initial goals, North Korea has been building up its military might and has gained nuclear capabilities, and the terrorist organizations haven't yet been brought to justice since the 9/11 attacks. And amidst these issues, the united states has been for years losing its grasp of the title of world superpower by its deteriorating economic might and global influence in industry and ingenuity in manufacturing technology. The United States needs to regain its hold on these issues before eliminating the threat to attack on the US. therefore i feel that the most important course of action in ultimately regaining National Security is to re-establish the US economic might that once ruled the world trade. the root of power has and always will be economic prowess. By reducing the military spending now, it would allow us to fight the financial deficit owed to other countries. by re establishing the country as a producing nation and buiding up the manufacturing output, it would increase the inflow of money and increase the bargaining power the US will have. the us could then begin to use its economic leverage against these nations that pose threats to the united states. furthermore, with a stable economy and a continual flow of money into the united states, it would be more likely to keep and maintain a stronger military force if need be. increasing national security through economic terms is somewhat indirect and more long term, but it will be for the better in a sustained period of time rather than a simple short term fix for the problem.
ReplyDeletei understand Dave and Stacy's choice with option one, and i feel that this is essentially the purpose of national security, that is, to protect the lives of Americans and the US from threats. however i feel that by simply increasing military might alone will not solve the nations problems in the long run, which is the overall goal.it is necessary for the United states to find an alternative method of eliminating these threats as the current method is not successful.pouring more oil into a broken machine does nothing to let it run smother and more efficiently. rather, by pooling resources into a different method and strengthening the economy, we can find a different avenue to eliminate threats. the US cannot sustain the type of military it has with such a weak economic base, its like an upside down pyramid, it wont work. instead we need to rework the base to make it strong before creating a bigger military to fight these issues.
i believe that the biggest priority of keeping America safe is keeping the people safe. Keeping track of who enters and leaves the United States, because terrorists could dress up as impostors and invade the US. That is why now they are putting full body scans at almost every airport across the country, to make sure if anyone is bringing in anything illegal or that could be a possible high security alert. although fully body scans are an invasion of peoples personal privacy it is keeping the US much safer than it really is. Keeping bad people out and having good people sent out to make peace with the others. And i agree with Stacey putting Americas safety from attack IS the first and most important priority.
ReplyDeleteI believe at the moment that the United States should take a step back and recharge its batteries by just focusing on our economy and getting everything in order and in check. The reason for this is first and fore most the government should be helping out its own people first I mean that would only be common sense. Then when we are "fully charged" we will be able to assist countries with more resources and money. I believe the best way the U.S.A. could do to charge the "batteries" is to start paying off the deficit, and enacting programs that would help bring money into the economy, and also help the people hit hard by the recession.
ReplyDeletei also agree with eric because we are spending more time helping out other countries and sending money to aid them when we can barely aid ourselves and protect our country from terrorist attacks.
ReplyDeleteI think that keeping the U.S. in tact is important. Right now we are struggling with economic issues. I feel like money in our country is an issue right now and I think that we should be focused on that. The more money we have, the more prepared we will be to fight but until then, we need to work on getting more money and focusing on our own country instead of everyone else. We can't keep spending money on war because that's how we lose money. Basically what I'm trying to say is that we need to keep our country safe and protected before we can worry about anyone else.
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ReplyDeleteThe article makes many good arguments about what is the biggest threat to America. I believe that the most important thing to America right now is to deal with these world issues.
ReplyDeleteAmericans must know that yes we are in a recession but we are much better off than other countries in the world. I agree with Stacy that there are many problems in the world and that terrorism and nuclear war threats are happening everyday. America can not go into a shell and hide from the world anymore, America must get involved with peace talks with unstable countries and terrorist groups in order to save as many lives as possible, America must be involved in human rights issues so another Rhawanda doesn’t happen where we failed to take action any many people died because of that choice
Like in Stan Lees comic spider man ‘With great power comes great responsibility”, If we want to say that we are the strongest power in the world, we must accept the responsibility of helping others whatever the cost be. We are too old of a country to say that it’s not our problem or let someone else worry about it or no it’s so and so’s fault. We are the world police not because we want to, but we have too.
I agree with Jaclyn. While the safety of the country is at the top of the government's list, building up the military only is a bad move. This makes the US look bad to other nations and as everyone in class agreed we don't want to be known as the world's police force. There must be other steps taken to ensure safety, like build a good secret intelligence agency to keep an eye on those countries we've identified as a potential threat. All three of the things mentioned in the article are important, and we've got so many problems going on in out country (the economy, war in Afghanistan) that it seems like all three are interconnected, meaning that you cannot solve one without also finding solutions to the other two. I think in the long run solutions to all three of these will include multilateralism that we recently learned about, and cooperation within our own government to get things done efficiently so our country can be in a better state.
ReplyDeleteWith the nation in an economic crisis, it is clear that option 2 is the most important threat to national security. Just as Eric said, "the best way the U.S.A. could do to charge the "batteries" is to start paying off the deficit, and enacting programs that would help bring money into the economy." In order to help the other threats to national security expressed in the article on global threats and safeguarding the US, we must first rebuild our economy to provide a safe military and ways to keep our citizens safe. If we built back up our economy, we could provide the citizens economic stability (a way of keeping them safe), feed the homeless while providing for them job opportunities and proper healthcare.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, if we continue to remain in debt to other superpowers of the world and if the economy stays exactly where it is, we may lose our role as one of the most powerful countries in the world. As we continue to have a high unemployment rate and a teetering economy, China grows stronger and their economy prospers. It is important that we build up our economy in order to keep our role as one of the world's superpowers.
While I know that safeguarding the US is also important in order to maintain happy, healthy, and just all around a safe environment for all citizens, as well as it is important to regulate global threats, such as fear of a nuclear war and global warming, it will be difficult to fix either of these issues without first building back up our economy so we can afford to fix both of these issues that threaten national security.
I agree with Emily and Eric because the US is in a lot of debt which needs to be paid off. They need to focus on things that will help like health care. Yeah the US needs to remain a superpower but they cannot if they are in an economic crisis
ReplyDeleteI think that the biggest threat to national security would be economic part of it. We are in huge debt with other countries and we our trading balance is off, we are importing more than we are exporting. I think we should focus on getting ourselves out of our debt and getting our country back on track.
ReplyDeletei agree with shawna, in the fact that we should be puttng most of our attention on fixing our economic issues.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kim in the sense that we should be worrying about our own country and get ourselves out of debt before we put our attention on other countries.
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of 9/11 and a few other terrorist attacks the United States has seen in recent years, I believe that terrorism should not be such a primary concern for the U.S., and neither should such an aggressive foreign policy for that matter. The money put into national security makes up a lot of the budget for the federal government, not to mention money which could be put into education perhaps, or something which would help the United States internally.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of this "threat" which the U.S. faces, I would have to agree with Talib. The U.S., if anything should try and stop concentrating on military spending as much. It is understandable that resources are needed, but if the amount of money put into military spending were to be put into education, science, and math, perhaps the need for resources around the world would not be as high if another alternative were to be found. It also seems like it might be easier for the United States to get involved in more trade around the world instead of jumping in to nations to dig in for what they need and leave.
With the foreign policy this nation has had for the past hundred or so years, how can this country not expect resentment from parts of the world?
This is the 21st century and the way we have been dealing with national security is obviously not working, our economy is down, unstable nations are threaten us with nuclear weapons, and we are stuck here not knowing what to do maybe we need to try something new. I agree with option one that unstable nations are out biggest threat right now such as North Korea and Iran especially since they have nuclear weapons and are stating they are not afraid to use them, and I also agree with option two the notion of rebuilding our economy. We need to rebuild our economy and get out of debt with other countries if we want to remain in power, but if we rebuild our economy by reducing military spending we put ourselves at risk by lowering our national security before we gain any. With Iran and North Korea getting more and more powerful and becoming increasingly more dangerous we can't afford to reduce the military presence. Option number three states we need to take a leadership role to combat climate change, I disagree we must actively engage with other nations to make a multilateral effort to tackle global threats. By working multilaterally with Russia and China to face the challenges we will not only have a strong military, plenty of funding but also three very powerful countries all working together toward peace. Once we reason with North Korea and Iran making them realize that there is something bigger than us, something we cannot control working against us we can then proceed in tackling global threats such as environmental devastation, climate change, pandemics, overpopulation, food shortages and natural resource depletion. I believe that developing partnerships with other nations is the most important thing to do at this point, we need to all work together because we are all on this planet together.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Kim and Shawna, I don't think we should just focus on ourselves, we should be working together to fix the issues we are facing. I do realize this is very unrealistic and optimistic.
I think it would be great to always help everyone out, but we all need to admit that our country is far from perfect, and we like everyone else have issues we need fixed, but if were out helping everyone else, who is supposed to fix our problems? I think that as long as our country is stable, we should help out but only if we are standing on our own two feet strongly
ReplyDeleteI feel that the most important threat to the national security of our nation is the nuclear threat, mostly because of the fear of having terrorists aquire nuclear weapons and using them against us. If a war were to turn nuclear it could kill our planet.
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