National Security & Defense

The federal government has many functions, but none more fundamental than protecting the nation and its citizens from foreign threats. This duty predates the Constitution—indeed, the inadequacy of defense under the Articles of Confederation was a primary reason for the Constitutional Convention.

Understanding national security requires appreciating both the threats America faces and the principles that should guide responses to those threats. Security cannot be pursued at any cost; it must be balanced against other values, including liberty, fiscal responsibility, and constitutional limits.

Constitutional Duty

The Constitution assigns national defense primarily to the federal government:

Congressional Powers: Article I grants Congress power to declare war, raise and support armies, provide and maintain a navy, make rules for military forces, call forth the militia, and provide for organizing and arming the militia.

Presidential Powers: Article II makes the President Commander in Chief of the armed forces and the militia when called into federal service.

Purpose: The Preamble lists "provide for the common defence" among the Constitution's purposes. The federal structure exists in part because individual states could not adequately defend themselves.

This division of responsibility—Congress authorizes and funds, the President commands—creates checks while enabling unified defense. Neither branch can wage war alone; both must participate.

Contemporary Threats

America faces a complex threat environment:

Great Power Competition: China's rise challenges American interests across economic, military, and technological domains. Russia, despite economic weakness, maintains significant military capabilities and demonstrated willingness to use force.

Regional Threats: North Korea possesses nuclear weapons and missiles capable of reaching America. Iran pursues nuclear capability and sponsors terrorism throughout the Middle East.

Terrorism: Though diminished from its 2001 peak, terrorism remains a threat. Groups exploit ungoverned spaces and can inspire attacks without direct control.

Cyber Threats: State and non-state actors target American infrastructure, steal intellectual property, and conduct espionage through cyberspace. This domain grows more important daily.

Emerging Technologies: Artificial intelligence, hypersonic weapons, space capabilities, and other technologies are changing the character of potential conflict.

Military Strength

The principle of "peace through strength" holds that maintaining military superiority deters adversaries and preserves peace. Weakness invites aggression; strength discourages it.

Deterrence: Potential adversaries must believe that attacking American interests will fail and that the costs will exceed any possible gains. This requires capable forces, credible will to use them, and clear communication.

Readiness: Forces must be trained, equipped, and positioned to respond quickly. Hollow forces—large on paper but unready in practice—do not deter.

Modernization: Military technology advances constantly. Maintaining superiority requires continuous investment in new capabilities while sustaining existing forces.

Alliances: America's alliance network multiplies its strength. NATO, bilateral treaties in Asia, and other partnerships extend American reach and share burdens.

Industrial Base: The capacity to produce weapons, ammunition, and equipment is itself a strategic asset. Dependence on foreign suppliers for critical components creates vulnerabilities.

Security and Liberty

Security measures can threaten the very liberty they aim to protect. Finding the right balance is among the most difficult challenges in a free society.

Surveillance: Intelligence gathering is essential to identifying threats. But mass surveillance of citizens, without particularized suspicion, threatens privacy and chills free expression.

Due Process: Even in wartime, citizens retain constitutional rights. Detention without trial, secret evidence, and other shortcuts may seem efficient but undermine the rule of law.

War Powers: The Constitution divides war powers, but modern practice has shifted power toward the President. Restoring congressional involvement ensures democratic accountability for decisions about war and peace.

Emergency Powers: Emergencies may justify temporary measures, but temporary often becomes permanent. Each expansion of power should be scrutinized and sunsetted.

Benjamin Franklin's observation remains apt: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

The Citizen's Role

In a democracy, citizens ultimately determine national security policy through their elected representatives. This requires:

Understanding Threats: Citizens should have realistic assessments of the threats America faces—neither dismissing them nor exaggerating them for political purposes.

Supporting the Military: Those who serve deserve respect, adequate resources, and care when they return. The all-volunteer force depends on citizens willing to serve and a nation willing to support them.

Holding Leaders Accountable: Decisions about war and peace, surveillance and liberty, spending and priorities—all should be subject to democratic scrutiny. Citizens must demand honest information and reject both fearmongering and complacency.

Maintaining Perspective: Security is important but not the only value. A nation that sacrifices all other goods for safety is not worth defending. Security serves liberty; it does not replace it.

The Bottom Line

National defense is not optional. A dangerous world contains actors who would harm America and its citizens if given the opportunity. Maintaining the capability to deter and defeat such threats is the government's first duty.

But security must be pursued consistent with American values. A security apparatus that ignores constitutional limits, tramples civil liberties, or operates without accountability threatens the very things it claims to protect.

At America's Overwatch, we believe citizens deserve honest information about the threats we face and the trade-offs involved in addressing them. Informed citizens can support necessary security measures while guarding against overreach.