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November 7, 2008

Exclusive: A New President: Implications for our National Security

Dr. Robin McFee

President-elect Obama. God willing, one day we may wake up and find out he became both an ardent defender of the U.S. and a true statesman. Yet we still do not know the answer to this question: who is Barack Hussein Obama? The election is surreal…and we wonder how he won? Charisma? Eloquence?

We elected a guy we don’t really know. A moderate nation selected a very liberal candidate. With so many unanswered questions – was it merely the Chicago machine gone national? Clearly the political organization was impressive. We still need to know the following…why does he have a “kitchen cabinet” of shady comrades that are now likely to crash at the White House? How deep are his ties to questionable connections and when will he be challenged on the world stage? Perhaps his very presence affords the world – especially our enemies – a level of comfort that the new sheriff in town is actually Barney Fife instead of Marshall Dillon. Or maybe Obama will rise to the occasion; he clearly learned a lot along the way as a campaigner – he actually sounded fluent in global threats. Will he be strong and resolute in dealing with them or merely an orator who memorized the script and presented it better than his opponent?

Will President Obama perform better than Sen. Obama or State Sen. Obama? I sincerely hope so for the sake of the United States. The White House doesn’t lend itself to merely voting “present.” With a track record of running for a new office almost immediately after winning the current one – the negative impact on attendance and work product obvious, perhaps his Oval Office attendance record will improve now that there are no other domestic offices for which to run. Am I being too provincial? Perhaps I am overlooking the most coveted office in the new world order – Secretary General of the United Nations. Since Obama has promised to increase U.S. support for that Tower of Babel, one has to wonder is he already campaigning for yet another office? Only time will tell as he interacts with global leaders and the UN if the U.S. Presidency is merely yet another stepping stone job toward becoming Secretary General Obama? One wonders just where ambition will take him.

Let’s get back to the issue at hand. We have a new president and there is cheering in the streets – but some of the folks applauding aren’t friends of the United States. And it isn’t because they are celebrating the inspirational, quadrennial American tradition of a peaceful turnover of our leaders. Realize that there certainly wouldn’t be such rejoicing in the Kremlin if John McCain had won. So, anyone wonder why the world has been deafeningly quiet in terms of terrorist activities these last couple weeks? Or why Russia has behaved itself? [Russia has just announced intentions to deploy short-range missiles near Poland – ed.] Putin may have even cancelled a Home Shopping or QVC tour for his judo video to lay low! Even the ever explosive Middle East has had a reprieve from Palestinian homicide bombers murdering innocent Israeli school children. Well if you are part of the international cartel of U.S. adversaries, UN supporters, one world zealots, new world liberals, domestic and international terrorists – otherwise known as the” Obama for President” cheering section – you played it right and knew exactly what you were doing to keep your candidate safe. You know we live in a dangerous world – you’re the reason! But you played possum very well. And it worked!

Fortunately most of us at FSM know that global threats have not changed, recent weeks notwithstanding. But to remind the average American that there are dangers within our borders and throughout the world that threaten our interests would only magnify the vast differences between Barack Obama and John McCain. McCain had the advantage on domestic security issues. So the bad guys played nice, just long enough to stay out of the media and far from the public eye to allow the economy to predominate. On things economic – advantage Obama.

Taking a page out of that playbook, Big Oil decided to lay low, too. Gas at $2.40 a gallon – part of that is the economy and part of it is a strategy to keep pain at the tank down; certainly at a threshold lower than the 401k blues. Clearly the oil industry didn’t want to be part of the last minute election discourse. Energy policy issues should rest where they always have – in the hands of lobbyists and Congress on the take, not the people. One wonders how long it will be before gas edges up again. Winter is coming – certainly Putin will start putting the squeeze on Europe as the thermometer goes cold; he needs the cash. Why would we expect our domestic energy folks to act differently? Or any of the big lobby groups – health insurance, oil, Wall Street.

Now the million dollar question – how long will the quiet last? When will the next shoe drop?

Before the inevitable chorus of “Obama is gonna lead us, Obama is gonna save us” from the school kids, peaceniks and peace-at-any-price academics, the pseudo-intelligentsia, the overbearing group of ultra-Left liberals … the naïve or arrogant Neville Chamberlain clones who believe there isn’t evil in the world (except of course, the imperialist United States) – the fact is, evil went quiet but not away.

Transitional periods are always fraught with danger – ask any parent what developmental stage of their children posed the greatest angst. Invariably they will offer the same answer a pediatrician would – transitional times such as infant to toddler or child to adolescent. Same is true geopolitically. From a security perspective, there will be increased vulnerability across domains, even though preparedness agencies have been aware of and studying the potential gaps that can occur when transfers of power, new leadership and changing missions result from a new administration. Planning notwithstanding, there will be an inevitable gap period. Will our enemies exploit it as they did on 9/11? Or will they lay low just long enough for the Obama Administration to impose severe cuts to national defense because of the “peace in our time” lull that may occur.

Fortunately for most of us, we know our role in this great democracy didn’t end at the voting booth; our work and responsibility has just begun. And responsible to the Republic we are. We live in a dangerous world. The threats we face domestically and abroad are often interconnected – from ineffective trade and immigration policies to a massive transfer of U.S. wealth and financial security through poor energy policy, weak monetary controls, the sale of government paper (own a piece of America), a growing criminal alien population – many invariably as gang members, drug cartels, fifth column cells or fundraisers for those set to harm our interests, lack of surge capacity at many of our major health care facilities, schools that are failing their students, government officials who have broken fait with their constituents and now a Congress that is unfettered by a contravening political group to keep them honest (one uses the term loosely when referring to Congress) – there are significant challenges ahead.

Fortunately we have options – and we need to utilize them.

First – if the Obama team is truly sincere about “change,” let’s hold them to it…starting with greater transparency, accountability and responsiveness. If he truly is sincere about being president for all parties and all Americans, his actions must support his rhetoric.

Second – connect with our elected officials, from local to federal to the White House. Contact them on issues that are important to us. Hold them to the campaign promises they made. Ask them how they are progressing or why they aren’t making headway on issues that they ran on. Not in an adversarial way but in a collaborative way. The elected govern with our consent – and cooperation or collaboration. But when they stonewall or renege on their promises then the voter and the media need to know why.

Third – band together with friends, colleagues and affinity groups, using strength in numbers to promote the patriotism, values and issues critical to keeping our nation safe. We must foster government reform and sound policies. Democracy is a work in progress and we must work together – our efforts must go far beyond the voting booth. Energy, national security, health care, oversight on financial institutions and those handling our pensions/investments – the election doesn’t solve these – it merely puts a new occupant in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Fourth – let’s not forget we are all Americans at the end of the day. Let us pray that Obama becomes the kind of president we hope any of our new presidents will be – leading with wisdom and compassion, moderate, strong and patriotic.

America is the greatest nation in the world – and still has the potential to be that shining city on the hill. Only in such a democracy can a middle class working woman from Alaska become a governor; a former prisoner of war become a senator, an African-American become president. Obama has the opportunity to be a unifier – to promote multiracial peace. Sen. McCain was right in his gracious and prescient concession speech – we must work together – to face the challenges our nation faces. We can disagree with our new president but should respect him and the office he occupies.

The Obama presidency has the potential to inspire a new generation of youth to vote, get an education, stay out of trouble, volunteer in the community, even run for office. But there are a lot of unanswered questions about Barack Obama. If our nation is to be secure, we must be loud and clear that we expect our president to support homeland security and defense. We must remind him that there are no other offices to run for, so he has a responsibility to do more than vote “present” – and he must remember to be responsive to all Americans – those who voted for him and those who did not. And we must remember that we, too, have a responsibility as citizens to actively participate throughout the next four years. We must remain vigilant, vocal and persistent. To do less would be to cede our consent and our security to someone who remains an unknown quantity and to a Congress with little opposition to thwart the majority’s unfettered power. A new president; our country in transition. The implications for our national security are significant.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Robin McFee is a physician and medical toxicologist. An expert in WMD preparedness, she is a consultant to government agencies, corporations and the media. Dr. McFee is a member of the Global Terrorism, Political Instability and International Crime Council of ASIS International. She has authored numerous articles on terrorism, health care and preparedness, and coauthored two books: Toxico-Terrorism by McGraw Hill and The Handbook of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Agents, published by Informa/CRC Press.

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