As the dust settles from Congress’s debt compromise, questions remain about the fate of our national defenses. Kori Schake, Research fellow at the Hoover Institution, explains why she is less concerned about the debt deal, at least in its first phase. “Requiring two to three percent in cuts in defense is manageable,” she says, however, it is the second tranche that requires cause for concern, with the potential of triggering automatic cuts leading to a hollow military. Schake discu...
As the dust settles from Congress’s debt compromise, questions remain about the fate of our national defenses. Kori Schake, Research fellow at the Hoover Institution, explains why she is less concerned about the debt deal, at least in its first phase. “Requiring two to three percent in cuts in defense is manageable,” she says, however, it is the second tranche that requires cause for concern, with the potential of triggering automatic cuts leading to a hollow military. Schake discusses President Obama’s “fundamentally reckless” approach that fails to realize the consequences of gutting defense. “We don’t get to choose when our enemies decide to challenge us,” says Schake, as she recognizes the importance of staying strong in the eyes of our adversaries. Schake also describes the disenfranchisement of our youngest Veterans who face an unemployment rate double that of the rest of the nation, and how the Hiring our Heroes program of the Chamber of Commerce seeks to address their concerns.
Next, Daniel Bongino explains why he left a life as a Secret Service Special Agent to run for Senate in Maryland. “It’s time for normal folks, who have lived lives of real consequence, to get off the couch and get onto the football field,” he says. “I’m just a normal guy fed up with politics as usual,” leading him to challenge career-politician Ben Cardin. A career law enforcement officer, Bongino shares his views on national security, views shaped by traveling to 27 countries. He debunks the perception of America’s poor standing in the World, and offers his perspective on the defense budget and why we have to be “rocked-ribbed with Israel,” our strongest ally in the Middle East. Bongino also explains why the U.S. is a force for good and how “if we don’t have a Country to defend the rest of the issues are irrelevant.”
Coordinating Supervisory Special Agent Austin Berglas, then educates us on the inter-workings of the FBI against cyber crime. Berglas, head of the Cyber Branch of the New York FBI office, says that as people become more and more connected on the Internet, the more vulnerable they are to cyber threats. “If everything is accessible to the Internet, it’s accessible to the bad guys as well,” he says, as even the FBI has been shown to be susceptible to hackers as of late. Berglas explains the “Deterrent effect” in battling cyber warfare, and also the blurring lines between state-sponsored strikes and individual hackers on a worldwide stage.
Finally, Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert takes time from his August recess to give us his take on the debt deal in Washington, one he calls, “disastrous.” “This bill is about national security,” he says, noting that because of base line budgeting there were no cuts, “we simply made decreases in the amount of future increases.” Rep. Gohmert asserts that the deal is gambling with our defenses, the equivalent of a King betting half his castle wall in a medieval poker game. Gohmert resisted the false choice of raising taxes against cutting our security forces in half by voting against the deal, and explains why his fellow Republicans should have done the same. The Vice Chair of Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, also comments on the Administration’s foolhardy outreach to the Muslim Brotherhood, commenting, “we are asking those bent on our destruction to help us against those bent on our destruction.”
View more
