Why we aren't safe in America

Friday, May 23, 2008

Why we aren't safe in America

Browsing through blogs today I stumbled on the National Review Online and read an article by William J. Bennett & Brian T. Kennedy about "Securing the Future" of America.

The article outlined 10 recommendations for the next president as a national-security policy for 2009.

Some of the recommendations were literally shocking. Not because they were outrageous, but because it is barely believable that these points are not already being implemented.

America has some huge safety issues that need to be addressed.

My question is why haven't they been addressed?

For instance:

MILITARY SPENDING

I was shocked to find out how little we are spending on the military, especially when compared to previous times of war.

Today, we spend less than 4 percent of our GDP on the military. That number pales in comparison to peacetime military spending in other eras. In 1961, for example, GDP spending on military was over 9 percent. In 1971, it was over 7 percent. In 1981, it was over 5 percent and reached as high as 6.2 percent during the decade. We advocate a military spending budget that is at least as high as it was in the 1980s and that our military be rebuilt based on the wide array of threats that we face now and into the future.

PREVENTING MISSILE ATTACKS

Equally stunning was the fact that we are not equipped to handle missile attacks by destroying the missile before it hits us. Today's technology can create such devices, but we are only taking very small steps toward this much needed defense. This topic has been debated for the past two decades, and yet it still hasn't happened.

We can achieve this goal within three years with a financial commitment of under $30 billion per year, as outlined by the Independent Working Group on Missile Defense.

Maybe the powers that be are betting that whenever we are faced with this problem, the missile will not land in their backyard. I guess it would be a good way to control the population too. Or maybe they haven't attacked the issue whole heartedly because some Americans might criticize them for spending the money when we have never had a missile attack on our soil. But some things are bound to happen and it doesn't take a missile scientist to bet on it happening sooner rather than later.

GIVING AID TO COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT FULL ALLIES

This one wasn't so surprising. Saudi Arabia is at the top of the list. Another good point was to encourage our citizens to not invest in countries who are not loyal to us. Seems like a no-brainer to most of us, but the rich just want to keep getting richer.

PROTECTION AGAINST BIOLOGICAL WARFARE

Giant steps should be taken to provide antidotes and treatments for all known methods of biological and chemical warfare. Then a system should be in place to distribute such treatments in case of an emergency.

There are other recommendations that are also important, but the ones above seemed to be the most severe and yet the easiest to remedy if we would just "DO IT." Let me say again, for those of you who might not know me, I am an independent voter and do not align myself with any party. I look at the individual, not the party, because when things go wrong and they certainly do go wrong, it is the President who takes the blame, not the party he/she represents. Matter of fact, I don't think the party system works, at all.

God Bless America!

Read the full article here.

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