National Security

True national security requires that we accurately evaluate the threats facing us and the true consequences of our actions.

Too often our foreign policy and national security decisions have been motivated by ideology, executed by private contractors who lack accountability. This has resulted in us becoming less secure, not more.

To begin making sensible choices, we should adopt an integrated security budget that covers all of our national security efforts in the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department. For example, under our current system, the Pentagon spends tens of billions of dollars on a missile defense system of questionable value while the Department of Homeland Security struggles to find the necessary funds to adequately secure our ports. By unifying the national security budgets we can take a rational approach toward setting our priorities.

We also must stop overextending the military, and we need begin rebuilding the Navy and Air Force. We cannot do any of that while we remain in Iraq, spending $25 billion a year.