Where the danger is

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, in his first major public address since being confirmed, spoke at the National Defense University on April 3 about the threats the United States faces today and tomorrow. Addressing the senior military and civilian personnel pursuing a year of study at the prestigious NDU, including some foreign military officers, he said (in part):


 "The security landscape of 2013 is of a far different character than the world of 1960, or even the world of a few years ago.  *****  The United States is emerging from more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the threat of violent extremism persists and continues to emanate from weak states and ungoverned spaces in the Middle East and North Africa.  
"There also stands an array of other security challenges of varying vintage and degrees of risk to the United States:  the proliferation of dangerous weapons and materials, the increased availability of advanced military technologies in the hands of state and non-state actors, the risk of regional conflicts that could draw in the United States, the debilitating and dangerous curse of human despair and poverty, as well as the uncertain implications of environmental degradation.
"Cyber attacks – which barely registered as a threat a decade ago – have grown into a defining security challenge, with potential adversaries seeking the ability to strike at America’s security, energy, economic and critical infrastructure with the benefit of anonymity and distance.
"The world today is combustible and complex, and America’s responsibilities are as enormous as they are humbling.  These challenges to our security and prosperity demand America’s continued global leadership and engagement, and they require a principled realism that is true to our values."
The Secretary reminded us that "the most destructive and horrific attack ever on the United States came not from fleets of ships, bombers, and armored divisions, but from 19 fanatical men wielding box cutters and one-way plane tickets."
(Emphasis added.)

The entire speech is well worth reviewing.  
(To respond e-mail: arch@archibald99.com.) 

Goodbye Charlie, Thanks for your work

Charlie Wilson, a 12-term congressman from Texas, has died at the age of 76. While he was in Congress he was a one-man dollar resource assault team against the Soviets in Afghanistan. There is a book and later a movie, Charlie Wilson's War, which tell the story of how an obscure playboy congressman (Tom Hanks played Wilson) from Texas single-handedly got the Congress to funnel millions of dollars to the mujahideen and Afghan "freedom fighters" to fight and ultimately defeat the Soviets during the 1980s. Some say now that weapons funded by Wilson and the CIA are being used against us in Afghanistan, but that is Monday-morning quarterbacking. The fact is that Wilson's efforts led to the defeat of the Soviets and forced them to give up in Afghanistan. It had the unintended consequence of awaking dreams and visions of Islam, but that not ought to be held against Charlie.

If you haven't see the excellent movie it is available on DVD at most of the usual outlets and is occasionally seen on movie channels. With Wilson's death you might look for it to be re-run several times over the next week or two.

The book, written by George Crile, is similarly available at most of the usual outlets. It is a fascinating read. I actually saw the movie first and then bought and read the book. The story is that compelling.

Charlie Wilson is the only outsider ever recognized by the CIA as "honored colleague." He was truly one of the good guys.