EDITORIAL: Homeland security, a year later

By defaultuser
March 25, 2004

A year has passed since the United States entered into war with Iraq in order to remove its dictator, Saddam Hussein, and find weapons of mass destruction. We now find ourselves trying to build a working democracy for the country. With our own upcoming election, one issue we will now be able to express our opinion about is how we see President Bush and the choice of war in Iraq. The issue of national security will no doubt come into play during election time between the candidates.

No doubt the situation the United States is in with Iraq and all foreign nations is muddled at best. How the candidates plan to restore the United States’ once strong leadership among nations will be a strong question for debate. The United States aggressive stance on bringing down terrorism has left some countries alienated.

Hussein was a ruthless dictator who was a menace to his country and those around him. Both President George Bush and Sen. John Kerry agree the removal of Hussein was necessary. The reason behind the deployment of United States troops however has been investigated.

The circumstances the Bush administration used to declare war were rather vague and misleading to the American public. There have been no weapons of mass destruction and the connection between Al-Qaeda and Hussein has never been established to warrant a full declaration of war.

Although the U.S. is now in this huge mess, a decision needs to be made how to resolve the issue. The two options are to either end quickly or allow this to continue over many years. Both President Bush and Senator Kerry will have their past national security decisions scrutinized. However the concern should lie in where if elected their administrations will go.

The focus of the future president needs to be the handling of our national concerns and those that directly apply to us. For example, the United States must find and destroy the Al-Qaeda splinter cells that are hidden all over the world. Al-Qaeda is the only true image the United States and its citizens have as an organization of terrorism.

President Bush plans to increase military spending by another $15.3 billion raising the total budget at a proposed $379.9 billion for the Department of Defense. Bush’s focus is taking on the threats of terrorism. Bush’s strategy is to defend, preserve and extend the peace that our country envisions to other nations.

Sen. Kerry outlines his homeland security agenda with six points. Kerry’s general plan is to first protect our nation and put money into our first defenders such as firefighters. Kerry sees the opportunity in Iraq as the chance to reclaim our overseas historic influence in encouraging peace.

The intelligence of our government has been in question since the tragic events of 9/11. On this debate both candidates agree to improvement and increased funding of intelligence in the effort to combat terrorism is very much so needed.

Mistakes have been made pertaining to our international actions that were in response to our national security threats. The presidential candidates will need to provide an agenda for our country’s pursuit of terrorism and an overall image of what goals must be met in order to ensure national security within our own borders.

Posted to the Web by Shawn Rice

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