National Security and the Global Landscape – The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator

I continue this series of five articles on conservative long-term policies, today addressing the issue of security, which is fundamentally about freedom. Because without law, justice, and security, there is no freedom, no private property, and no democracy. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want safe neighborhoods. Even criminals wouldn’t oppose more security in their own areas.

Our starting point is the growing sense of insecurity. Biden didn’t prioritize anything except opening a debate on defunding the police, only to later deny ever having done so. Faced with rising gun violence, he declared war on firearms, as if guns pulled their own triggers, while pushing measures against police abuses that further weakened an officer’s authority. Democrats are experts at putting out fires by dousing them in gasoline and then billing taxpayers for the damage.

As you know, in Europe, obtaining guns isn’t so easy, and carrying them is prohibited. So the only ones armed are the police and criminals, who get their hands on them anyway. And it’s no big deal: knowing they’ll face no consequences, terrorists kill with katanas, machetes, or mass vehicular attacks. The only effective crime policy is making crime too costly for criminals, so they finally decide it’s not worth it.

During his first term, Trump often used the slogan “law and order,” which the left considers almost a fascist relic. Maybe they’d prefer living under jungle law, but the truth is, for most people, our family’s safety is non-negotiable. But to have law and order, you need a strong police force, an efficient justice system aligned with lawmakers, and a powerful military — one strong enough to serve as a clear deterrent.

Crime doesn’t have a single cause. I’d say it’s a mix of lost values, poverty combined with stupid policies (i.e., making crime more profitable than work), and a misguided belief in the inherent goodness of all civilizations, that multiculturalist fantasy that’s destroying Europe, which the U.S. should pay close attention to, like a lab experiment.

Domestic security also means discussing immigration. Legal immigration has made — and will continue to make — America great. Illegal immigration is state-sponsored crime. There’s every reason to fight it by all means necessary. But thinking long-term, we must also ask: What do we want to be when we grow up? In other words, we must decide what kind of immigration we want. And to have that debate, we must finally stop fearing accusations of racism.

Immigration and Security

Again, look at Europe: Muslim immigration is demonstrably unassimilable. Some cultures are. The U.S. should open its doors wider to Europeans — in fact, it should encourage them — and to Latin Americans, while shutting the door to cultures incapable of integrating into Western tradition. Tourists, skilled workers, and qualified professionals enrich a nation. Illegal immigrants, criminals, and Islamists impoverish it. We must suffocate illegal immigration until it’s no longer profitable, not for the migrants, not for the cartels. That’s how we build a better country for future generations: with people who, whether born here or not, can embrace our flag and shared values. The rest is cheap talk.

On the global stage, there are two major blocs: those that pose a threat and those that form alliances. U.S. sovereignty won’t be compromised by strengthening and expanding good alliances, and if it is, then they weren’t good alliances to begin with.

On the horizon, Russia, China, Iran, and Latin America’s Bolivarian bloc are concerns. No one wants war. And there should be a damn way to pressure threatening nations without becoming the world’s police again. Still, I might be wrong about this, tomorrow’s wars won’t be between nations. Once again take a look at the European experiment: half the continent is already at war with Islamists and their lone wolves, while EU leaders remain clueless. Don’t let the same happen to you.

The wars of tomorrow will resemble jihad more than the bloody nation-state carnage of the 20th century. And as vile as I find Communist China’s dictatorship, I believe Islamic radicalism is today a far greater threat to Western security.

Finally, for a long-term security strategy, a smart conservative government must anticipate coming threats, some already on our doorsteps. I’m talking about the vast new frontier AI is opening for crime. I’m not suggesting we restrict AI’s infinite potential, but leading its development and regulation would be a start. And just as cybercrime units were created in their time, we must now train teams dedicated to AI policing, to counter criminal AI. It sounds like sci-fi, but today’s sci-fi is tomorrow’s horrific headlines.

Law and order? Yes. Not out of love for repression, but out of love for freedom.

READ MORE from Itxu Diaz:

The Future Left the Group: Education, Culture, and Values

A Strong Economy Needs a Strong Demography