By: Daniel Nardini

While I was driving, I was listening to National Public Radio. I overheard a conversation with a Gordon Adams, professor of international relations at American University. He stated that the United States is much safer now than it was at almost any time in its history. He stated that the United States faced far more dangers in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and the threat of nuclear war and revolutions breaking out. He pointed out that even with the threat of terrorism, America is still much safer than it was a mere 25 years before. Adams stated that no other country has the capacity to wage war against the United States, no country can invade the United States, and that even with large-scale Pentagon cuts in the U.S. military budget, America will still have a strong enough military to defend this country.

In my view, the United States has no choice but to cut the U.S. military budget. The money is no longer there for any large scale wars or sustained wars. In this I will very much agree with Professor Adams. However, I see three very serious wild cards that could still threaten the United States. The first and most serious threat in my book is North Korea. Not only does the North Korean government have chemical and biological weapons, but also possibly nuclear bombs. North Korea has been testing rockets as part of its missile technology program. If North Korea wants to hit South Korea, Japan, and other parts of Asia, then it does not need to put in a lot of resources to develop missiles. The only reason for such a program is to hit the United States directly. If North Korea can develop missiles that can carry chemical, biological and nuclear weapons to the United States, then the North Korean government can blackmail America. This to me is a very, very serious threat.

Just as easily threatening is Pakistan. Not only is the Pakistani government highly unstable, but the Taliban is poised to take Afghanistan once the U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces are out of Afghanistan. What is worse is that if the Taliban get a hold of nuclear weapons, who knows what that can mean for the world?! This would most certainly be a major problem for the United States. Finally, there is the problem of revolutionary socialist movements taking control of various countries not only throughout the world but also in the Americas. Contrary to what some people may think, socialism is not dead. If anything we have seen how revolutionary socialist movements have taken over Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and El Salvador in the Americas alone. With the exception of El Salvador, the revolutionary socialist leaders have not only not given up power in the three Latin American countries mentioned, but they have been re-writing their nations’ constitutions to stay in power indefinitely. While this phenomenon may not threaten the United States directly, such movements could put the resources (especially if these countries have very valuable resources, and Venezuela and Bolivia do) of these countries and whole regions into the hands of opponents and even enemies of the United States. I am not saying that America should start spending big bucks on the U.S. military, but I am saying that this country will face very serious threats that we as a nation should be looking at after the U.S. military pulls out of Afghanistan.