Intelligence

Missing actionable intelligence, as we did with 9-11, is inexcusable. As part of defense, we must maintain an intelligence capability more capable than any other in the world. As the only superpower left, we must know exactly what is going on and be able to respond to clear, actionable intelligence when needed. Getting it wrong, as we did in Iraq, cannot happen again—it’s simply too costly in lives and money. We must rebuild our HUMINT mission, as well as strengthen our SIGINT and IMINT capabilities.

War on Terrorism

We should continue to partner with other nations to go after terrorists where they live, train, and plan activities. An international conference on terrorism must be called and a treaty or accord signed on how to deal with terrorists not associated with organized governments. This includes temporary incarceration, rights to trial, punishment, and freedom of action guarantees.

Piracy on the high seas, whether done by state sanctioned privateers or independent groups, is growing rapidly. In many cases piracy is funding terrorism. We need to convene a new international conference and decide how to deal with the pirates. Can we set up decoy ships? Can we arm merchant vessels? In any case, we must deal with the problem before it becomes worse.

Stationing of Troops

We should bring all troops home over a period of 10 years, starting with the oldest stations, unless the government of the country they are in pays for their stationing or remunerates the U.S. in some other acceptable manner. We should improve the capability of our expeditionary forces to be able to deploy in a matter of weeks instead of months.

Defense

The Common Defense is one of the pillars of the Constitution. Let’s face it—the thing an armed force was made to do is to kill. In this light, we must continue to develop the best weapons and maintain a technological edge to protect ourselves while reducing civilian casualties. However, where civilians are sheltering the enemy, we cannot be afraid of inflicting “collateral damage.”

We should spend between one-third and one-half of our non-discretionary national budget on defense, making certain that our troops are well-supplied with the best technology we have to offer for the money.

We must never send our troops on a mission without the proper weaponry, outfitting, and supplies. Furthermore, we must give our forces under the United Nations the right to disobey orders that they see as foolhardy. For instance, in Somalia in 1993, U.S. commanders believed we were under-gunned before going into Operation Gothic Serpent, which led to the fiasco we now know as “Black Hawk Down.” However, they were constrained by President Clinton at the time to follow the orders of the local U.N. commander.