National Security essay

                                              

 

National Security is defined as the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power. The National Security concerns are biological weapons, nukes, cyber-attacks and transnational crime; however the least concern is poverty. It is said that the national security is the protection or the safety of the country and its citizens. Although let’s ask our self’s if 15, 749, 129 of Americas are under the safety of what’s called our “National Security” if there living under the poverty line. The quote by Marian Wright Edelman illustrates how the National Security protects as I said before the use of biological weapons, nukes and cyber-attack; however it does not protect us from our own failures of human mistakes and corruptions; “The greatest threat in America national security comes from no enemy without but from our own failures to protect, invest in, and educate all of our children who make up all of our futures in this global economy” (49). The theory of the National Security is that their primary concerns are the outside threats and the least concern is the inside problem such as poverty. However the National Security should balance both equally because both the outside threat and the inside problem is our concern for the survival and safety of our country.

National Security on the one hand is primary focused on outside threats. The most unforgettable threat in America history was the tragedy event of 9/11. On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists boarded four commercial jetliners. They hijacked four airliners and transmitted a suicide attack against the United States. Two airplanes were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C; the last plane was going to crash another building in Washington but the passengers stopped the hijackers leading them to crash into a field. The 9//11 attack caused three thousand people to die without saying good-bye to their love ones. After the 9/11 attack America became mainly focused towards terrorism causing it to pull away from domestic issues. The 9/11 attack led what is called the “Global War on terrorism “issued by President George W. Bush. This meant that the U.S government increased military production, economic measures and political pressure towards terrorists of  being a threat to the United States.  In response of the 9/11 attack the military took action against Afghanistan. This policy is called the “US invaded Afghanistan” in order to remove the Taliban regime and to capture al- Qaeda forces. The war, however it’s still not solved but complicated deeply into Afghanistan and Iraq. This concludes how the 9/11 attack known as the “outside threat” are value into importance for the National Security and taken into consideration of an issue that needs to be solve and change into a solution. 

According to the Rich and the Rest of US “ we think most Americans now agree with us that the more than a trillion dollars ( and counting) it has cost the American taxpayer to execute and maintain our military adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq was a monumental mistake”(106). In response the war in Iraq and Afghanistan led to be the second most expensive military conflicts in America history. In other words we spend billions of dollars investing in the war that could have been instead being used in creating jobs and eliminating the poverty line in America. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan was money wasted when it could have been invest into bigger problems in America such as reducing poverty by increasing jobs and wages. According to Dr. King “war is the enemy of the poor” because the poor pay the price of the results due to the war; for example according to The Rich and the Rest of Us; “The plan by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, which calls for 2.4 trillion in cuts over a 10 year period, includes $900 billion in cuts in areas such as education, health care, nutrition, affordable housing, child care, and many other programs desperately needed by working families and the most vulnerable”(109) the result of the war caused drastic cuts to Medicare and Medicaid programs that help economically stable the poor. However due to the war in the end the poor suffer and increase the poverty line in America. Another outside threat is Syria according to the President Barack Obama speech on Syria “Over the past two years, what began as a series of peaceful protests against the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has turned into a brutal civil war.  Over 100,000 people have been killed.  Millions have fled the country.  In that time, America has worked with allies to provide humanitarian support, to help the moderate opposition, and to shape a political settlement.  But I have resisted calls for military action, because we cannot resolve someone else’s civil war through force, particularly after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan”. In response the United States is acting on another outside problem that might end up in another complicated war that we won’t get out easily like the Iraq and Afghanistan war.  However Assad’s government gassed to death over a thousand people, including hundreds of children, this horrified event is a crime against humanity and a violation of the laws of war. This tragic event takes the United States to intervene into action.  According to President Barack Obama “Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used” in response we or mostly of the Americans would support that chemical weapons used against its citizens was immoral, inhumanity and it needs to be taken away from misgovernment use. On the other hand why can’t we say this about poverty? Why can’t we say we would take millions of children’s out of poverty?

On the other hand National Security least concern is poverty also known as the inside problem. According to The Rich and the Rest of Us; “fear is the underlying radioactive element that suppresses the truth about poverty… if no one honestly speaks out the suffering of the dispossessed their pain will never be heard “(111). As long with this quote fear suppresses politicians from speaking the truth about poverty and hiding from the problem. Fear makes us attack on someone else we choose to remain silent about poverty due to our fears and rejects them. The voices of the poor are muted from the world that causes it to reject the truth about poverty and refusing to stand up against powerful political system that blindly favors the rich and ignores the poor. According to The Rich and the Rest of Us “What’s missing in today’s political arena are bold advocates for the poor who will risk careers stature and political office to be their brothers and sisters keepers” (113). Today’s political are ignorant in their own power that they ignore the rest of us mostly the poor. Their political power causes them to become blind without seeing the reality about the inside problems in America. Power makes us vicious once we have power we want more and more that it goes over our heads that we would dare to exploit the poor to retain the power. As a result of power the exploitation leads to poverty. Power also makes us corrupt and pulls us away from humanity and drives us to vicious power. In other words power transforms us into monster and doesn’t take you anywhere in life.

According to The Rich and the Rest of Us, “poverty has become a political football used to accent government failures and ridicule socio-economic outcomes” (30). national security and the government has failed in reducing poverty and providing its citizens a “safe” secured life zone. Poverty is the lack of money and not a character flaw. The national security as long with the government should talk about and do something to end poverty in America. To change we need courage to tell the truth and fight for justice for the rest of us.