UP TO THE CHALLENGE
By John Edwards
Since the first responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens from harm, Washington must now do as much as possible to meet two overriding priorities: securing the American people at home and addressing both the immediate and long-term threats to our security abroad. Yet I worry that the Bush administration is failing to achieve both, neither doing what it takes to make the United States safe nor working hard enough to develop a comprehensive strategy for enhancing global security.
Let’s begin with homeland security, which is a vital part of any national security strategy. Thankfully, we have made real progress on airport security systems and have started a massive government reorganization to create the Department of Homeland Security. But we still don’t have the means to infiltrate terrorist organizations operating within the United States or adequate ways to stop terrorists or their weapons from getting through the holes in U.S. borders or ports. We still have not given police the proper training and equipment to protect bridges and tunnels. We still have not done enough to help the police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians on the front lines to help coordinate a response in the event of an attack. We still have not done nearly enough to encourage and help all Americans to play a part in making the country safer.
In short, today there is still no comprehensive strategy for domestic security. Up to now, the Bush administration has focused on racking up political achievements for itself rather than substantive achievements for U.S. security. And against all reason, the administration stubbornly clings to permanent tax cuts that will benefit mainly the top 1 percent of Americans while arguing that the government can’t afford vital measures to protect the American people.
A comprehensive approach to domestic security must include initiatives to find and track terrorists through better intelligence, to improve border security and target protection, and to do as much as possible to enhance domestic readiness. I have outlined proposals in each of these areas, and I believe acting on them must be an urgent priority.
Yet making the United States safe at home is only the first step—we also have to do much better to make the United States safe in the world. This effort means we have to meet at least three key challenges: eliminating the threat of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; winning the war on terrorism; and promoting democracy and freedom around the world, especially in the Middle East.
To eliminate the threat from weapons of mass destruction, we must ensure countries such as Iraq and North Korea abide by their international obligations. That is why I supported authorizing the use of force to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and why I was so dismayed by the administration’s muddled response to the recent North Korea crisis. But the threat from weapons of mass destruction is much bigger than Iraq and North Korea. To prevent future threats from arising, the United States must treat non-proliferation as a strategic imperative. Unfortunately, so far, the administration has spent far more diplomatic energy to weaken the international consensus against proliferation than to strengthen it.
The world needs more U.S. leadership on these issues, not less. Just as the United States must lead a global coalition against countries like Iraq, it must forge a global coalition against the larger threat from weapons of mass destruction. We must do much more to support the many disarmament programs already in place to dismantle weapons and prevent access to weapons-grade materials in Russia and the former Soviet states; we must also devote the maximum resources necessary to support cooperative threat-reduction programs, including the Nunn-Lugar Act of 1991.
American resolve in these efforts must also be matched in the long-term fight against terrorist groups like al Qaeda. I reject the false choice between fighting the war on terrorism and combating the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction. The United States’ national security requires both.
The war on terrorism, as the fight against weapons proliferation, will never be won through unilateral American action. Though powerful, the United States cannot be everywhere and learn everything without cooperation from our friends and allies. Al Qaeda alone is known to operate in more than 60 countries, and we therefore need the cooperation of intelligence and law enforcement agencies around the world.The United States must also be there to fight terrorism for the long haul—waging war when necessary but also doing what it takes to win the peace. From the Balkans to Afghanistan, the Bush administration has displayed a visceral rejection of leadership in post-conflict situations. Again, we should not—and cannot—go it alone. But we must make such leadership a higher priority. We’ve proved that we have firepower. Now we must show the world that we have staying power.
A vital part of staying power is the U.S. effort to promote global democracy and freedom. Ultimately, there is no greater force for peace and prosperity and against terrorism than the promotion of democratic regimes that respect human rights and the rule of law both within and beyond their borders. That’s why the United States must lead a far-reaching new effort to build the infrastructure of just and lawful societies: a free press and civil society, open and fair elections, and the legal, political, and regulatory institutions to make government accountable.
This effort will require steady diplomatic pressure and increased funding. I support the administration’s ongoing effort to link assistance to just and responsible governance. But the United States must also rally Europe, Japan, and multilateral aid agencies to put democracy and good governance at the center of their strategies and standards.
This emphasis is especially important for the Middle East. No area of the world is now more critical to U.S. interests, yet no area of the world is less democratic. Getting serious about political reform and human rights in the Middle East will require specific strategies in specific countries, but it will also depend on achieving energy security. Presidents of both parties have tolerated and even supported authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, in part because the United States depends on them for oil. A real commitment to energy independence—which the Bush administration clearly lacks—would not only strengthen the U.S. economy but free the United States to promote American values. The United States must also do far more to promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Finally, Americans must remember this fundamental fact: Success in combating weapons of mass destruction, fighting terrorism, and promoting democracy is only possible through American leadership of the world—not American disregard for it. Too often, the current administration sends the message that others don’t matter. It rightly demands that U.S. allies back efforts vital to U.S. interests but then shows disdain for cooperative endeavors and agreements important to theirs. Indeed, the administration often treats allies as an afterthought, gratuitously rubbing in its contempt for them and their views.
We will always have some differences with friends and allies. But what’s important is how we resolve those differences—or agree not to. We should always stick to our principles, do our best to bring others to our way of thinking, and remain committed to resolving disputes in a respectful spirit. But picking up and walking away is not an exercise of leadership; it is an abdication of it. After all, a leader who has to go it alone is no longer leading anybody.
Right now, when it comes to U.S. security at home and abroad, Americans have the worst of both worlds: an administration that has not done enough to strengthen our domestic security but has done far too much to isolate us in the world. The American people deserve better on both counts.
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