Bi-Partisan National Security Strategy - Coursework Example

Bi-partisan National Security Strategy Introduction The conception of national security refers to the efforts of safeguarding the citizenry, a way of life, and a territory. It encompasses protecting or defending the masses from physical assault. Similarly, national security implies to the protection via a variety of ways, values, and broad arrays of interests. To preserve and protect the national security of the US it requires safeguarding the freedom of the individuals and various US values, laws, and institutions that protect them.1 The notion of national security has foci on the preservation of the US from the threats that challenge the state. Essentially, the country has focused on threats from the other nations while paying inadequate heed to the variety of the transnational phenomenon. Contextually, some of the transnational forces that pose challenges involve migration, transnational crime, narcotics, and terrorism having human beings as the primary actors. Additionally, other occurrences such as shortages of critical resources, environmental degradation, and the menace of infectious disease cause critical challenges to the national security. Therefore, these novel issues deserve a place next to the traditional military and the issues of the economy as the main drive of the national security priorities.2 The FBI concede that there have been unprecedented transformations in the recent past to adjust the varied security agencies and align them toward securing the national security. However, there are challenges that need improved strategies to ensure the safety of the state. Hence, it is paramount for the various agencies to establish collaborations to devise novel stratagems and tactics to curb the instances of non-traditional and traditional threats that challenge the state. The top two threats that pose significant challenges to the US national security The foremost threats inherently discussed includes Cyber Conflict and Environmental degradation and climate change Justifications for the threats that merit attention Cyber conflict as a danger to national security Apparently, the 21st century has received a label as the information age, a context where civilians have a leeway to access and control vast volumes of information. However, the evolution of the aspects of ICT have by far transformed the manner in which the masses use the information. Besides, the state intelligence and the military agencies have also evolved a myriad of ways through which they utilize the massive developments of ICT. Due to this fact, there is a battlefield that has opened, the concept of cyberspace. Currently, the US is facing new dangers from the cyber exploitation and cyber conflict. As a matter of fact, the cyber arena constitutes a scenery for both defensive and offensive acts that place the security of the state in a conflicting situation. In this course, during cyber conflicts, there are no clear-cut lines that differentiate between the civilians and the military. Hence, the enemies might use computers that belong to individuals in launching offensive cyber-war posing a challenge to identify the exact spots that need instant action. The situation then limits the intelligence capacities to determine the perpetrators of crime adding confusion regarding the legal of action that need implementation. Precisely, a spate of cyber-crime have received the media’s attention in the recent past. In this course, states may engage in acts that siphon the confidential information involving the military and business firms. If there will be no implementation of stern measures, the enemies may stun the US military systems from proper functioning and steer the nation toward the dark times of 9/11. Essentially, cyber-war is a serious threat toward the national security and sovereignty because it manages to transcend the borders and utilizes the readily available civilian resources such as the electric grids and the broadband networks. Also, there are involvements of the malignant non-state actors like the fringe extremists and organized crime associations that hack into the security intelligence systems and databases without discovery. The reverberations that incorporate intrusive cyber-war are difficult to predict and can easily get access to classified information that is of critical value to the security of the state. Further, it is worth noting that drug cartels, illegal business persons, and fire arms smugglers often use ICT to execute their plans, effect influences and contribute to the weakening of the national security. Postulations hold that there is a likelihood of cyber-crime accentuation due to the under-the-radar transactions, which in reality pose a significant threat to the state’s national security. The absence of strategic plans and novel tactics to identify and thwart the possible dangers will exacerbate the security of the state and lead to unnecessary attacks. Moreover, it is critical for the state to identify the gaps that exist in the national security and realize the means through which the plans will resolve the insecurity knots. It is valuable to have numerous organized committees and meetings to foresee the future of the state’s national security and help safeguard the values, the ways of life, and the freedoms pertinent to the US citizenry. Environmental degradation and climate change Evidentially, the global climate is changing at an accelerating rate without the nations taking decent actions to counter the lethal consequences. Climate change has become the 21st century’s concern regarding the global, national, and regional security. The notion has very devastating effects that if not well addressed will lead to fatal impacts that might render the global security besides national security useless.3 For instance, the exploding populations and the burgeoning need for energy, especially in the third world countries lead to the depletion of the natural resources without concerns of the future generations. It is of paramount importance to take note of the cascading effects of global warming that result from climate change. Notably, increased temperatures lead to high frequencies of cyclone formation and storms that couple with melting ice caps in the Polar Regions raising the sea levels and submerging of the islands and low-lying areas. Furthermore, this situation threatens the existence of these regions amid facilitating the spread of communicable diseases that arise due to water and airborne carriers.4 Actually, climate change is in itself a threat to the national security because of its function as the fountainhead concerning the other natural and associated phenomena that pose dangers to the existence of humans. Scholars have made references to the dwindling state of the natural resources such as coal and oil and predicted about possible wars due to the scarcity of their scarcity. The idea of climate change greatly impacts on agricultural activities through the disruption of the standard climate due to the fluctuating temperatures. Cognizant of the changing nature of the climatic conditions, energy security will remain the primary factor that will keep driving the far-off policy of the nations. In essence, the environmental degradation leads to the depletion of the non-renewable resources that entail coal, oil, and gas. In response to this phenomenon, the suffering states will resort to the use of nuclear energies to fulfill the needs of their citizens. Eminently, the results of nuclear will leave numerous nuclear wastes that the enemies can easily turn into weapons of mass destruction. Haphazard disposal of the nuclear wastes might land into the hands of the criminal and non-state terrorists that may resolve to the manufacture of such weapons of mass destruction, which can greatly impact on the national security. Hence, the ruling out of the resource wars is proving an impossibility, thus, as the state, appropriate measures need implementation to hamper the projected fatal effects of climate change strategically. For example, the Arctic seabed is holding unexploited resources and already these resources have received attention from several states including the US, Russia, Canada, Denmark, and Norway.5 Cognizant of this situation, there is a possibility of environmental refugees that will soon turn a reality. The states will experience mass population mobility across the borders from the affected countries leading to instability in the host nations, and US is no exception. In this perspective, the nurturing and protection of the environment is an urgent requirement to stabilize the environment and curb the possibility of tipping points. The resulting effect will hinder the irreversible and catastrophic consequences such as natural disasters that may threaten the existence of populations and the state. The identification of the environmental strategies that will help curb the degradation needs collaboration from all the parties involved to realize the very best ways to address the pressing issues. The impacts of global warming will finally trickle down to affect the national security of the state as there will be a proliferation of immigrants. Policy changes to address cyber-crime threats Due to the loopholes observed in the current policies, the president has given directives for the development of safety strategy proposals that will heighten the security of the United States. In this regard, in response to cyber security, it is critical to prioritize the protection of the private and the public sector in concealing its confidential information from unauthorized persons. The strategies identified will guard against the non-intentional incidences caused by the malfunctioning technologies, human failures, coincidental failures, and natural disasters. Also, the plans notwithstanding will identify the possible ways to deal with intentional attacks instigated by non-state, state actors, and botnet attacks. As established, the botnet attacks disrupt the information structure, interception of data, and unauthorized access of data besides communication leading to the manipulation and destruction of the data and its systems. Thus, it is essential for the state to focus on the reduction and elimination of the instances of cyber-crime. For instance, analyzing risks and vulnerability, initiating early warning signs and responses, and establishing incident management. Likewise, there is a dire need to set up CERTs, CSIRTs, and hike the procedures of mitigation and recovery. It is eminent to offer expedient strategies to bolster the national security by realizing the technical and political dimensions that will enable the coordination and implementation of the unique strategies adopted. Contextually, the management and implementation of these strategies typically lie within the jurisdiction of the councils, boards, and the committees. These institutions incorporate representatives from diversified levels, for example, the cabinet offices, the ministries of defense, and the national intelligence. Also, the various stakeholders from the CIT department and information security organizations need to join hands to abolish the threats posited by cyber-crime. Cyber-crime intelligence and reporting As noted, the dangers of cyber-crime are substantial to the US national security. In this respect, it is vital to establish alliances that will facilitate easy identification and reporting of this vice. It is prominent to initiate identification and reporting channels that will allow the users both in the private and the public sectors to detect and report the acts of cyber-crime. The circumstance will foster an understanding regarding the scope, trend, threat, and the collation of the data to realize the patterns of criminality. It is important to consider the fast evolving technology and tailor the channels toward techno-serve systems to assess the threats and predict the trends of cyber-crime. Pertinent to the security of the state, it is of utmost importance to build the capacities of the personnel to learn the various unique methodologies that will help note the changing nature of cyber-crime. For the prevention steps to be easier it is imperative to offer training and education to the public, create awareness, and empower the users to dwindle the acts of cyber-crime.6 Law enforcement and training In the recent past, the US law enforcement officers have been reluctant in reinforcing the laws that are in place. Therefore, this proposal constitutes a strategy that will ensure all law enforcement officers receive a special training that aim at needs analysis. The actual training will involve the responders, generic investigators, internet and crime detectives, specialist agents, network managers, covert internet crime, and the digital forensic officers. The security of the state is crucial to the safety of the citizens; hence, President Obama is vigilant to ensure that his oath of office safeguards all the people that he is serving. In this case, the security docked has received funds to ensure implementation of the policies that will see a safe US. In particular, the security agencies have the potential to offer the best for the nation given the best reforms.7 Mindful of the reforms, it is imperative to ensure that all the law enforcement officers receive training that will accentuate their skills and competencies necessary to carry out their duties effectively. The various officers that will receive the training will learn the various methods of investigating cyber-crime alongside securing the electronic evidence. Moreover, the officers will gain the potentiality to determine and do computer-based forensic analyses to foster criminal proceedings. Further, the investigators will be in a position to assist the other agencies and offer contributions to the national security network. It is prudent to provide training to the judicial civil servants in the bid to revamp the US national security. The case will bring aboard the knowledge of the judges and prosecutors to deal with the electronic evidence offered that relate to cyber-crime. Strategically, the training will need augmentation into the current judicial training systems. A coherent conception is already in place to ensure that the training institutes delivered an initial and continued cyber-crime training about the international standards. The strategy focuses on the future judicial position and tends to equip the largest number of judges with the knowledge of electronic evidence and cyber-crime. Because of this focus, the nation will have judges and prosecutors that will facilitate the proceedings of the suspects and lead to fair judgment. If the strategy receives an applause from the rest of you, it will necessitate the manner in which the courts deal with the suspected criminals of cyber-crime. The benefits realized from the strategy will not only be of value to the president, but also to every citizen that thrive in the US soil. Thus, it is for the benefit of the nation that the committee adopts the strategy to guard the values and the laws of the nation. Policy changes to address environmental and climate change threats The president’s concern rests with the protection of the fundamental rights of the US citizens. Indeed, this is the reason for his outright speech that time is running out for the globe to address the needs of climate change. It is clear from the president’s message that the rising temperatures are wreaking havoc to the national security. According to the president’s speech, it is important to note that the security will face challenges due to the increased sea levels. To be specific, the rising levels will displace the borders marked in the water bodies and eat into the US lands causing conflicts with the neighboring countries in the struggle for resources. Global stability will be at stake due to conflicts that arise from the irreversible impacts resulting from climate change. Guarding the coastal regions will be a nightmare once the sea level rises beyond the controllable levels.8 The effects of climate change will impact negatively on all the citizens of this country. Henceforth, it is useful for the US army to factor the notion of climate change to the operations and plans to help hamper its deleterious effects. Abandoning the strategy to address the changing nature of the climate will on deteriorate the state of the nation and endanger the security. Understanding the global and national climate change patterns It is practical that non-environmentalists exist in the US, and it is clear that there is a diverse line of understanding the main impacts that result from climate change. Organizations have held lots of symposia and provided fora for deliberations that evoke the issue of climate change. Environmentalists propose that global warming is inevitable, and the nations must react to avert the changing trends, which will impact negatively on the national security. However, the antagonists hold that there are important and fiscal threats that need attention rather than concentrate on the naturally changing climate. Climate change is real, and it is not a natural phenomenon but rather a human instigated activity. Scientists have proven beyond doubt that if the degenerative human activities do not halt, the effects of the changing at one point will engulf the universe.9 The laymen in the opposition to the actions against climate change seem not to understand the terminal effects that will finally befall the US. It is the mandate of the people with the capacities to blow the whistle, influence the rest of the citizens to cease those activities that facilitate climate change. Through the incorporation of the concept into the operations and plans of the security agencies, the people will easily accept the influences and enable the state win the war against the changing climate. The opponents of strategic changes toward climate change will see the seriousness that surround the issue as the state will act through its respected wing of the military. The influence will trickle down, and the citizens will unanimously follow suit and abide by the strategy that focuses on the inhibition of climate change. Through the plans and operations executed by the security agencies, more people will receive training pertinent to climate change and gain an understanding into its causes and how to avert them. For instance, during military pass-outs, the security agencies and officer could organize plays that help demonstrate the fatal effects brought about by climate change. The circumstances will instill the information in the viewers and contribute to reducing the impacts of climate change. In so doing, there will be a conducive environment for the security agencies to focus on the protection of the state’s security as there will be no much to worry. To stop the wars that destroy and burn the environment According to the very of the nature, they destroy the environs and burn vegetation besides releasing massive amounts of gasses from greenhouses. Realization of this condition arises from the military mobilization where there are pouring of emission of carbon into the atmosphere. These gasses then deteriorate the environment through mixing to form acidic rain, which burns out the vegetation. On the other hand, testing of nuclear weapons takes place in cleared areas to give room for the military practice. In this course, the flora gets burnt without replacement and leads to additional effects of climate change. Similarly, the wars and the military usually buildup and dedicate their efforts to fight for the fossil fuel without a second thought. The wars displace people who further move to clear vegetation to find a place and settle. As they settle, the land loses its vegetation causing a threat to the environment. If the military involvement base on peacekeeping in the unstable nations, there will be no displacements of people who move to destroy the vegetation. The resources directed toward the refugees would go to the other sectors, perhaps fighting the changing nature of the current climate. Further, the strategy will incorporate the military in the international agreements on the matters of natural resources to avert the use of force that lead to the destruction of the environment. Likewise, the military nuclear training will move to the deserts where there is no clearance of trees to decrease the impacts of climate change. Reducing the impacts of climate will ensure the stability of the nations and reduce the proliferation of refugees eliminating the possible threats that come because of migration. Reaction from the members of the committee Climate change is not a pressing need It is obvious that the Republicans never dine with the Democrats; hence, there are postulated negative reactions to the proposals of national security. Given that the issue of climate change is contagious, and the Republicans had early signaled negatively to the president’s speech, some members will object to the strategy of incorporating climate change. For instance, they might argue that there are more pressing needs to the national security rather than diverting the attention to climate change. Climate change is a natural phenomenon that must trend without human interference. Thus, human beings have no capacity to thwart the naturally occurring trends. Rather, divert the resources toward curbing the smuggling of firearms into the nation and this will significantly reduce the threat to the national security, they could argue. Conclusion The US national security is an important aspect that needs a considerable attention. All aspects that influence the delivery of the services regarding national security need careful handling. It is not better to abandon the state of the security since the enemies could take advantage of the loopholes and destabilize the nation. The viewpoints of cyber-crime and climate change need much consideration to avert the threats to the US national security. The trends of traditional and non-traditional threats are changing, and the strategies to deal with the changing conceptions must evolve. Stagnating the national security policies will lead to grave misconduct leading to a myriad of threats to the security of the United States. Therefore, it is pertinent for the concerned agencies and shareholders to come together and develop means through which the national security will address the traditional and non-traditional threats. 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