US Internal Security Redux

[Jack_Gander]

It can be argued that what we're seeing is a functional democracy, but with the exception of threatening to cut DOD spending, how this really impacted our national security? Seems a little like hyperbole to me at this point.

There are several reasons:

1. The federal debt is a national security concern for a variety of reasons. The inability of Congress to slow or eliminate deficit spending should be of great concern.
2. Congress has failed to enact meaningful legislation on a variety on national security issues, immigration reform for example.
3. Of particular interest to COIN practitioners is the issue of corruption. As a friend from the IC told me when he was recently in Afghanistan, he spoke to a Gov’t official regarding corruption. The official laughed in his face and told him to go home and fix the problems on “K Street” first, then come back and lecture them about corruption.
4. As a senior political appointee told me Congress is just doing their job and actually representing their constituents. The gridlock in Congress is just an indicator of how divided our country is on many issues.

I can agree with the first four, but did you intend when you posted the "U.S. Criminal Justice system" as an indicator?

Absolutely!

• The US prison system are the school houses of radicalization. Pick your flavor – white supremacists, Mexican gangs or jihad. This is a global trend.
• Prisons serve as “Centers of Excellence” for transnational crime. Some prisoners leave prison better citizens; some leave better criminals. It is a great place to share best practices, network and improve your tradecraft.
• Prison has become a fact of life or even a badge of honor for certain groups in the US. It has lost its deterrent effect.
• The failed criminal justice system is an underlying cause of social unrest in the US dating back to the post Civil War era.

I would recommend reading Collapse of The American Criminal Justice System by William Stuntz on this topic:http://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Ameri...3794152&sr=8-1

Also, Fabius Maxium has a great review on their blog:http://fabiusmaximus.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/28991/ and http://fabiusmaximus.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/29087/

Actually an internal revolution within the U.S. may be the only existential threat, and agreed it is a much greater threat than downsizing in Afganistan, but how probable is it?

Revolution or Collapse may not be the outcome. However these same factors have limited the US’s ability to project power. Military Power or coercion only goes so far. Is America today the same “Shining City upon a Hill” that Reagan spoke of?

The short answer is no, I think we have internal security concerns, but not from immigration, political polarization, etc.

The USG recently released policy documents to the contrary. Particularly on radicalization and transnational crime (this does not include the War on Drugs).

I think there were many lessons missed in Wisconsin the past summer. Protest against austerity measures shut down the state gov’t. If this had been a prolonged effort and the protesters were without basic needs (9 meals from anarchy) the outcomes may not have been as peaceful. Austerity measures, particularly at the state level, are coming – the “can” can only be kicked so many times.

Political Polarization may be a soft characterization of real social unrest. There were groups of US citizens in the 1960 who advocated violent revolution in the US and wanted to bring the war to US soil. I’m not saying that is in play now, but I’ve read comparisons of the civil disturbances of today to those of 1968. What do you see as a means to calm the growing unrest or tension?

Definitely, a foreign entity could wage political and economic warfare against us, the KGB did. Would it ultimately be successful?

There was some fairly recent research done at Harvard on the “moveon.org” movement a few years ago. I am not commenting on their political views but it was an interesting look how the internet could be used by non-us citizens to influence US politics. Dependence on information systems only makes this vulnerability worse.

I think it already has to a large degree, what do you think we're missing?

DoD, DHS and Federal Law Enforcement budgets increased significantly over the past decade. With efforts underway to reduce federal spending, it’s difficult to predict how the latter two will fare. Another indicator of our national investment is the amount of funds committed to PME. We send thousands of military officers to graduate school each year to counter the external threat (I would say that SWJ reaps the benefits from this investment) yet there is no educational system to support other agencies involved in domestic issues to this degree. I find it interesting that military officers at NORTHCOM are better educated on homeland security affairs than are DHS personnel. For state and local practitioners on the front line everyday, training is a luxury – education is out of the question.

DHS, and Federal, State and local Law enforcement agencies are facing the same "tough choices" as is the DoD. There is no mechanism in place to balance the entire national security portfolio.