What's the biggest threat to America?

I ask the question, what's the biggest threat to America, because there seems to be so many threats to our beloved country today.  I also ask because once we identify the threats, we must be up to the challenge of confronting and neutralizing these threats.  I'm talking about threats from within our borders as well as from the rest of the world.  I also ask because we need to think about these threats as we elect a new president.

Two nuclear experts, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) workers and their driver, were kidnapped in Sheikh Badin, a town in militancy-hit Dera Ismail Khan district, while on a routine visit to conduct a geological survey for mineral exploration in the mountainous area, which adjoins Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions. The threats in Pakistan are real.

The nuclear threat from places like Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, are real, but even more dangerous are the threats within the U.S. borders.  The risk of a terrorist attack on a nuclear research reactor on an American college campus, and the potential consequences, have been underestimated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to Congressional auditors.  Yes, power reactors are surrounded by fences, guard towers and open space, and concrete barriers, but the research reactors are often located in buildings on densely populated campuses and the “first responders” who would arrive if intruders set off an alarm are likely to be unarmed campus police officers who are untrained is how to properly respond. 

A pair of Russian TU-95 Bear bombers overflew the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the western Pacific at an altitude of 2,000 feet (660 meters) over the weekend, prompting four F-18 US fighter jets to scramble.  This is the second time since July 2004 that a Russian Bear bomber has overflown a US aircraft carrier, previously the USS Kitty Hawk in the Sea of Japan.    Japanese F-15 fighters had earlier scrambled to intercept another pair of Bear bombers, and escorted them out of the area.

Michael Cutler has written about the movement of cash out of the United States through remittances and other methods by illegal aliens who came here with the single-minded focus of securing illegal employment to send money home to assist their family members.   In his latest article, That Sucking Sound Is Money Leaving the United States, he writes:

This article, originally published in the Christian Science Monitor, focuses on the impact of the reduction in the value of the dollar on the illegal aliens who are draining billions of dollars out of our nation's economy – but nothing is said about the impact of this loss of money on the economy of the United States and on the ability of the average American to meet his expenses.

Not one candidate for President of the United States seems to be ready to secure our borders.  To me, this is a big part of securing the homeland. 

Related tidbit:  Study Sees Non-Hispanic Whites Shrinking to Minority Status in U.S.

America could come to resemble New York City by 2050, when one in five residents will have been born in another country if immigration flows hold at the current rate, a study published yesterday by the Pew Hispanic Center said. The study's projections found that non-Hispanic whites will become a minority in less than 50 years, while both the Hispanic and Asian populations will have tripled in size.

A new alert from Homeland Security predicts suicide bombers inside American borders, dressed like pregnant women, using prosthetics to hide explosives.  It was only a matter of time before this kind of terror threat hit the US.  Are we prepared?  Think of Israel, Iraq, and other places where this tactic is used.  Will they be using American citizens or people who are in our country illegally?

The FBI is warning lawmakers that China has more than 3,000 "front" companies in the US whose real purpose is to direct espionage efforts. In Canada, similar warnings involving an estimated 500 firms have fallen on deaf ears. The situation is now being called the most significant threat to North America's security.

Even before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, security experts were becoming increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of U.S. computer systems and associated infrastructure.  Now combating both state-sponsored and terrorist sponsored use of the internet against America is a great challenge.  Do we have our best technical minds working on the problem?

State-Sponsored Threats. A widely publicized cyber assault against Estonia in 2007 increased suspicions that adversarial states are using malicious online activity as a tool of national policy.  [snip]

Senior defense analysts believe that China has undertaken a sustained effort to develop informa­tion warfare capabilities to achieve "electromagnetic dominance" over the United States and other poten­tial competitors. Security experts believe that the Chinese government orchestrated a sophisticated cyber-espionage effort known as Titan Rain, which downloaded information from hundreds of unclassified defense and civilian networks.  (more)

This week four people have been arrested in the United States for allegedly passing secret defense information to China, including information on America's space program, space shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft and the Delta IV rocket, 24 secret manuals relating to the B-1 Bomber, and more, for the benefit of China.

Military prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty for six Guantánamo detainees, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and a man labeled the "20th hijacker" who was denied entry to the United States in the month before the attacks, who are set to be charged with having central roles in the Sept. 11 attacks, which makes me wonder what a new president will do when we capture terrorists.  Will they approve of trials here in the United States with American attorneys and all the privileges of American courts?  Surely not.

By their own words, al-Qaeda is losing, specifically in Iraq.  Yet Nancy Pelosi this week called the surge a failure.

The U.S. military insists these documents are authentic and they provide a rare insight into an organization thrown into turmoil by the rise of the Awakening movement. More than 80,000 Sunnis have joined the tribal groups of “concerned local citizens” (CLC) that have helped to eject al-Qaeda from swaths of western and northern Iraq, including much of Baghdad.  (more at Islamanazi)

We need leaders in Washington who understand the threats we face, who are willing to stand up and do what's right to defeat those threats.  I don't think Clinton or Obama are right for the job.

A Flag Obama Supporters Salute?, from Captain's Quarters:

Oh, my. Barack Obama may want to call his new Houston office and suggest some decorating ideas. Take a look at the flag flying in the office at the moment:

Also Obama's wife once told him, "Don't THINK, FEEL."  (via Fox News Channel)  Wow.  Is that what you want in a President?  Someone who makes policy and decisions on his touchy-feely inner baby?

John McCain has accepted funds from George Soros since 2001 and also accepted funds from Teresa Kerry.  What does that say about him?  Nothing good for Conservatives.  It's things like this that cause Conservatives to say:

Since that time [the Republican Revolution of 1994], the conservative base has seen the Republican Party go astray. From runaway spending, to big government programs, to assaults on our First Amendment rights to amnesty for illegal aliens, conservatives have become disheartened. Conservatives are told to be loyal to the Republican Party, yet the Republican Party has shown no loyalty to the conservative base. Conservatives are told to fall in line and work for Republican candidates, yet Republican candidates are not working for conservatives.

  ...   conservatives need assurances that core conservative principles will be implemented by our Republican presidential nominee and other Republican officials   (more)

No, we don't wans promises because we can't believe a word they say.  Very sad.

So what's a voter to do?  I suppose we will have to choose which threat is the most important to us and vote for the person strongest in that area.  Trouble is -- there ISN'T ONE.

"Lib-er-al, noun, (1) Someone so open-minded that their brains have fallen out."   --Chuck Muth

In Good News:

Top Taliban Commander Mansoor Dadullah captured in a gunfight near Zhob, in Baluchistan province Pakistan, after being seriously wounded in western Pakistan.  Also important, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, went missing in the tribal regions traveling by car between Peshawar and the Afghan border.

Dadullah rose to prominence after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed by British special forces last May. His death marked a major blow for the Taliban, even if he was something of a renegade. In late December, the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, said Dadullah had been expelled from the movement for insubordination.  (more)

__________________________________________________________________________ Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Pirate's Cove, A Newt One, Conservative Cat, Right Voices, and Adeline and Hazel, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Comments

[Ernesto Ribeiro]

Rastaman SAID ALL.

It's enough to remember: that f@#$%ed Argentinian commie, befora being backstabbed by his Cuban and Soviet comrades, plotted EXTERMINATE AMERICAN PEOPLE BY NUKING AMERICA IN 1962, USING SOVIET MISSILES.

Fortunatelly, Nikita Krushev refused that madness (MAD = Mutual Assured Destruction) and withdrew his nukes, ending the Missiles Crisis.
Later, he described that story in his memories, "The Krushev Tapes" published by his son.

[Durano Lawayan]

Hi Debbie,
I think the biggest threat to America and the rest of the world is INTOLERANCE; and that is cultural, religious, social, political, and other basic differences that exist.
America started with red skinned people, then white, yellow, black, brown, and a whole melting pot of the world's populations. Today, it has morphed into a multi-racial haven that must live and work together in harmony.

The threat you refer most to is terrorism and nuclear arms, and yet only America has used the atomic bomb against members of the human race. I believe that the consequence of a nuclear counter-attack from America makes the nuclear armed countries think twice before using it, the same way you do.

Would America feel safer if all countries of the world were a democracy and could be easily compelled by the most powerful nation on earth to tow the line? Look at the other side. Would the Arab nations or Israel for that matter feel safer if all countries in the world were Islamic or Jewish and could easily be compelled to follow their laws and religion?

If no agreement could be reached, should competing countries just annihilate each other and take the rest of the world with them? Can we safely say that American politicians and Government officials are the only ones trustworthy and would this make Americans believe they would always do the right thing?

America cannot barricade itself against other beliefs and cultures and must reach a point of understanding. That the right to life , liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is for all people, not just Americans; and that the rights of one ends where the rights of others begin.

The differences must be accepted, since the similarity has more weight than all differences combined, and that is we are all human and are part of the human race, living in a single planet that is threatened by environmental destruction that could eliminate mankind as we know it. Must we hasten this destruction with intolerance. This raging issue creates anger, fear, hatred, and ultimately elimination through bloodshed.

I may sound Utopian to you but it was Benjamin Franklin who said,"there never was a good war or a bad peace". If I am censured by a retort saying "that that was a long time ago", do we then cite the statements of the US forefathers who framed the constitution selectively when it suits a particular argument?

I refer here to intolerance not just from America, but from all countries who have differences with one another. If we go back to Jonathan Swift's satire in Gulliver's Travels, wasn't it silly that the Lilliputians would go to war over how they opened an egg? This is intolerance.
--Durano, done!

[Stormwarning]

Along with Skunkfeathers, I believe that our collective complacency (and apathy) is the greatest threat to America. I've been writing about complacency and its dangers now for 5 years. We slipped into that complacency surprisingly soon after Sept. 11. We probably won't snap out of it until there is another "incident."

[Skunkfeathers]

The biggest threat to America? Without reading the prior comments (and therefore risking redundancy), IMHO, it is citizen apathy: about the threats from outside, about the deterioration of culture, about the progressive cancer eating away at the Constitution (aka, Political Correctness), and the feeling among so many that their vote doesn't matter, so they won't bother exercising it.

[Jack]

Hmm, are you trying to wreck my sleep. ;)

[Karen]

Don't just stop at deciding who will be the best president. We do NOT have to vote in the people within our own congress who are also a threat - i.e. Pelosi, Reid.

As voters, let us use our VOICE. Vote these people OUT.

Repeat after me - Term Limits for Congress - if they won't make the law - we'll do it for them - no more than 2 Terms. And, if they don't do the job during their first term, there is no reason to let them go back to Washington.

[Aurora]

Excellent post as usual, Debbie. There certainly are a lot of threats. America is a huge prize to so many in the world. Our job is to defend her as strongly as we can and unfortunately, we also have one more threat...the cancer within, the self-loathing of the Left which seeks to tie our hands as we try to defend ourselves.

[Truth-Pain]

Deb,
One threat to America is our collective inability (or resistance?) to to think outside our own pre-conceived boxes. The world is changing, demographics are changing, the dynamics of world superpowers last but single digits, not decades,... and with such things there has to be a spring to our step and proactive thinking that keeps that which make this place unique in the world, with those things that are matter of when, not if. There is not greater defender than I when it comes to all things "Americana"... but at times, (at the risk of sounding progressive)we think that John Adams and Jefferson were at the white house last month. Much has changed. Some for the better and some for the worse; but there is no denying in my mind that the greatest danger is if we close our eyes to things inevitable in coming. The ability to foresee things, fight the good fight, but be pragmatic about what is "do-able" is one of the best lines of defenses to keep America upright.

[Truth-Pain]

Deb,
One threat to America is our collective inability (or resistance?) to to think outside our own pre-conceived boxes. The world is changing, demographics are changing, the dynamics of world superpowers last but single digits, not decades,... and with such things there has to be a spring to our step and proactive thinking that keeps that which make this place unique in the world, with those things that are matter of when, not if. There is not greater defender than I when it comes to all things "Americana"... but at times, (at the risk of sounding progressive)we think that John Adams and Jefferson were at the white house last month. Much has changed. Some for the better and some for the worse; but there is no denying in my mind that the greatest danger is if we close our eyes to things inevitable in coming. The ability to foresee things, fight the good fight, but be pragmatic about what is "do-able" is one of the best lines of defenses to keep America upright.

[Beaman]

I think America needs to study what is happening in Europe. What happens to us, will happen to you later. In that regard you have a wonderful advantage. Whilst other nation states such as China, Russia and Pakistan are concerns, the largest threat comes from the war of ideas raging at home and in the international arena. In other words, Islamic terrorism and their Western apologists.
Europe is beginning to fight back but for some cultures and nations like Holland (in 25 years it could be a muslim majority) it is probably too late.
You might well be having a massive influx of fleeing Europeans in 30 odd years.

[Layla]

Hi Debbie - I believe our greatest dangers are from within, not from without. Just look around the and you can feel the way liberal left and its permeating influence on all sectors of our society.

We are going to destroy ourselves from within if the left is not stopped.

[Rastaman]

Debbie... Thanks for the trackback, I returned the favor on my most recent post which mirrors the basic context of yours here. You did a great job of covering the current global mess.

But I gotta tell ya... That Cuban flag with Che Guevara, the Communist agitator, in Obamas Texas headquarters... Oh man. If the Republican party, OR Hillary doesn't pick up on that one they're missing a huge winning bet. Great catch. That one floored me.

Rasta

[MK]

The biggest threat is leftist ideology, take that out and the rest will fall into place. Leave that alone and fighting the rest will only happen during a republican administration, but only if the said republican is not a RINO.
Then comes illegal immigration, America as a nation seems to have forgotten about that, it's not a big issue anymore, if you look at the way the candidates are doing. You are yet to pay the price of open borders.

[Angel]

hiya Deb..dont think ..feel..well in that case I feel sick!..what a great depressing overview right?