Talking Points for Top 10 National Security Issues

Policymakers, pundits, and candidates face complex national security issues every day. In this memo, we provide answers to what we see as the ten most pressing questions likely to be asked on this important suite of issues in the next few months. Obviously, there is no "one size fits all" answer to any complex national security questions, but this memo provides a baseline for those engaged in these debates.

1. Syria

Q: The civil war in Syria has claimed over a hundred thousand lives and is destabilizing the region. The Administration has evidence the regime has used chemical weapons. Should the U.S. intervene to stop the slaughter and remove Assad?

A: There are no good options in Syria. We have a responsibility to not make things worse, but it’s not clear that direct American intervention would help.

• The Syrian civil war is complicated and full of religious extremists—including members of al Qaeda and Hizbollah—on both sides of the conflict.
• We should be careful to avoid getting involved in an open-ended conflict in the Middle East with no exit plan.
• America is currently providing more humanitarian aid and support than any other country in the world; we have also signaled that we are willing to provide some arms to the rebels. But with al Qaeda elements making up part of the rebel alliance, we must find a way to ensure that extremist groups don’t get American weapons.

2. Iran’s Nuclear Program

Q: Many are concerned that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. What should we be prepared to do to stop them?

A: A nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable. The best way to stop Iran is at the negotiating table.

• The U.S. is leading a multinational effort to compel Iran to give up its weapons program.
• Sanctions are working—they are wreaking havoc on the Iranian economy—but they need more time to have their full impact.
• In the vote in June, a relative moderate was elected president of Iran. We must seize this opportunity to reach an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear weapons capability before it’s too late.
• We can blunt Iran’s capabilities by strengthening our allies’ missile defense systems.
• Of course, all options must remain on the table. But for now, while we try to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions through diplomacy, we must keep our powder dry.

3. Defense Budget

Q: Not only is Pentagon spending declining after years of war, but sequestration is also causing the military to implement painful across-the-board cuts. Do you support defense cuts? And what do you think about sequestration?

A: We don’t need to keep wartime levels of spending when we’re not at war, but we do need to maintain a strong defense. Some cuts may be smart, but sequestration is a dumb way to reduce defense spending.

• The debate over the defense budget should not be about how much we spend, but about what we buy. We should be investing in the tools our troops need and use today, not Cold War-era systems we don’t use.
• The Pentagon is not very efficient, and we need to curb the bloat.
• With sequestration, it’s not the level of the cuts, but the mechanism that’s so painful. We do need to trim the Pentagon budget, but we also need to give the Pentagon more flexibility to prioritize the cuts so that our security isn’t harmed.

4. NSA & Electronic Surveillance

Q: What is your opinion on recent revelations that the NSA is collecting huge amounts of data from telecommunications providers and internet companies? Do you think Congress should continue to authorize these programs?

A: Certainly, the recent allegations are troubling and raise serious questions about the adequacy of privacy protections. But without seeing the classified information about how these programs work, it’s difficult to assess the value of this intelligence or whether the privacy controls in place now are adequate.

5. Sexual Assault in the Military

Q: Over the past year, numerous incidents of sexual assault in the military have raised questions about the Defense Department’s capacity to handle them properly and have prompted competing proposals for reform of the military justice system. Which reforms should be adopted?

A: We absolutely cannot tolerate sexual assault against our military members, and we need to look carefully at reform proposals. Congress is already considering some, and the Pentagon has implemented others. I look forward to seeing the impact of these reforms and will continue to look for ways to improve the system.

6. Al Qaeda and Terrorism

Q: The Administration says that we’ve nearly defeated al Qaeda, but don’t the Boston bombings show that terrorism is still a threat?

A: We have our main enemy, al Qaeda, on the ropes. It is a shadow of its former self and can’t support the kind of organization that attacked us on 9/11. Since then, we’ve used the full spectrum of government power—military, intelligence, diplomacy, and yes, law enforcement & federal courts—to put al Qaeda leaders, their followers, and wannabes away forever.

• Since 9/11, we’ve killed bin Laden, detained 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and neutralized many of their lieutenants.
• Since 9/11, we’ve stopped many terror plots at home. There have been at least 43 such plots inside the U.S. The overwhelming majority were stopped using aggressive intelligence and good police work.
• Since 9/11, law enforcement and the legal system have performed well when it comes to terrorism. Federal courts convicted over 400 people of terrorism offenses between September 2001 and December 2010 and handed down long prison sentences—usually 10 years to life.

7. Guantanamo

Q: The President promised that he’d close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, but hasn’t done so. Some say that it is a recruiting tool for terrorists, while others say that if we release detainees they’ll return to the battlefield to attack us.

A: The Pentagon has said that of the 166 detainees at Guantanamo, 86 have already been cleared for release and 34 have been designated for trial. It costs the taxpayer $1.6 million per year for each detainee at Guantanamo. Compare that to the $34,000 we spend per inmate in maximum security prisons. There’s no question we don’t want to endanger Americans by haphazardly releasing prisoners, but we need to come up with better options than indefinite detention in Guantanamo.

8. Libya & the Benghazi Attacks

Q: Administration critics claim that the White House misled the public about attacks on the US Ambassador to Libya in Benghazi. Do you think that there’s a cover-up?

A: No. And these charges distract us from the real issue—the safety of America’s representatives abroad. Despite nine (and counting) congressional hearings on the Benghazi attack, there is no evidence suggesting that the Administration deliberately misled Congress or the public.

It’s time to move beyond the partisan finger-pointing. We should instead work to find pragmatic solutions to reduce the chances of such an attack occurring in the future.

• We must do a better job of protecting our diplomats. We can do more to reinforce diplomatic facilities. While host countries are supposed to protect our embassies and consulates, we must take precautions to protect our own.
• Congress must ensure that the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security does not have its funding slashed, since this office and its personnel protect those who conduct diplomacy.

9. Afghanistan

Q: The U.S. is withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan at the end of 2014. Is this advisable given the ongoing war in the country?

A: We’ve achieved what we set out to do in Afghanistan. Bin Laden is dead and al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self. It’s time to bring our combat troops home and thank them for a job well done. We can provide targeted assistance to protect Afghanistan’s future without massive troop deployments.

• The Administration is discussing follow-on missions with the Afghan government.
• If our security demands it, we could use Special Operations Forces (SOF) and intelligence services to track and eliminate threats from terrorist groups in the region.

10. Veterans

Q: There are over 20 million vets in America, and many of them are stuck in the Veterans Administration’s notoriously long backlog, waiting to receive benefits. What should we do to help them get the benefits they deserve?

A: It is inexcusable for our veterans to wait a year—or more—before getting the benefits or the medical care they need.

• The VA this year began giving temporary benefits to vets who have been stuck in the system for a year or more.
• This is an important first step, but more must be done. We must devote more resources to provide all of our veterans with their benefits as quickly as possible.
• America must also fight for more funding to treat PTSD and traumatic brain injuries—challenges which afflict many of our returning soldiers.