The Republicans keep saying that Democrats don't have a plan. Well, I've got news for them.
Yesterday the Democratic leadership released their plan for national security. Did any of you hear about it on the news? Was it touted on CNN or MSNBC? NBC, CBS, ABC? I only heard one mention of it on MSNBC when Chris Mathews made fun and the other right wing talking heads called it a stunt. So much for the liberal media.
You might go here to see it:
http://www.rawprint.com/pdfs/RealSecurity.pdfAmong other things the plan calls for instituting the recommendations of the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission. Imagine that! Five years and two studies later and it will take the Democrats to implement the safeguards dictated by the Commission that Bush opposed and under funded. Democrats will screen 100% of the containers and cargos ships coming into our ports, stop the outsourcing of critical national security infrastructure, provide first responders with the equipment and training they need and improving the public health infrastructure to deal with threats like Avian Flu and terrorist biological attacks.
The plan calls for a 21st Century Military. Making investments in manpower and war fighting equipment, expanding the National Guard and enacting a GI Bill of Rights so our soldiers will know what to expect in the way of support and benefits. Democrats will build a military to meet today's threats instead of concentrating on massive spending projects like Missile Defence.
Strategies for the War on Terror will change. Instead of simply projecting military power into countries where it isn't welcome as a first option Democrats will work to change the economic, social, and political conditions that foster extremism. Should we need to project power the size of the Special Forces will double as will human intelligence in sensitive areas of the world. Under Democratic leadership the US will take the lead in fostering and defending human rights. Quite a change from torture and rendition to secret prisons that fosters hatred of the US.
Iraq won't go away and neither will Afghanistan. The US won't have security until these two countries are functioning again. The Real Security Plan calls for re-building the infra structure using the people of those countries and implementing strict oversight of US contractors. The Iraqis will know that they must take responsibility for their country and government and do it soon. US military occupation is not an open ended option.
Finally, the road to true security is through Energy Independence. Democrats believe this can be accomplished by 2020 through production of alternate fuel and energy including bio fuels, geothermal, clean coal and other diversified energy sources. Trucks and SUVs will be brought to CAFE standards drastically reducing the petroleum consumption. A 10% increase in fuel efficiency will replace all the oil in the Alaskan north slope in as little as three years.
How will the Democrats pay for all this? They damn sure won't do it by selling infrastructure to China or the UAE! Unlike the current majority that will cheerfully borrow hundreds of billions of $$ from countries they routinely cite as threats to our way of life and mortgage future generations, Democrats pay as we go.
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