The Lack of American National Security

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla., Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- We are living in a frightening time and our elected officials and presidential candidates must start taking our national security more seriously. 

ISIS wants to eliminate us. Russia is remilitarizing itself and threatening our NATO allies. China is expanding its Navy with the objective of controlling the Pacific. North Korea is controlled by an unpredictable leader whose weapons can reach our shores.  Libya, Syria, and Yemen have become failed states with much of their populations turning to ISIS. As a result, refugees have begun to enter Europe.  We must wake up and make our national security a top-priority before it's too late.

As it relates to the Iranian nuclear deal, critics of it include the majority of Congress, the majority of the American people, Israel, and many of our Middle Eastern allies; all have well founded and justifiable concerns. However, both sides of the political spectrum have done a poor job of explaining and justifying their arguments, and neither side is looking at the larger picture.    

Iran's Supreme leader is an aging anti-American revolutionary, a remnant of an age long-passed whose rhetoric is becoming irrelevant within Iran.  Less than 20% of Iran's population was either alive or old enough to remember the 1979 Revolution.  His views no longer represent the majority of Iranians; however, this will change if war happens. We will see the radicalization of countless Iranians born after the Revolution, and the one thing that will unite them is their hatred of the United States. When it comes down to it, we need the Iranians to help eradicate ISIS.

An Israeli military attack against Iran's nuclear facilities would be catastrophic. With the exception of Israel, Iran has the most advanced and developed military in the region and would counter attack with deadly force.  Iran is 80 times larger than Israel and its population is 10 times greater. 

An Iran-Israel war would be the catalyst that sparks an all-out attack by Hezbollah and Hamas against Israel, and if it appeared that a possible Israeli defeat would result, then the majority of Palestinians would join. The Arab states would do nothing except facilitate additional violence, especially if it meant the eradication of Israel and we cannot let this happen. 

The Iranian nuclear deal gives us 10 years before we would have to deal with an Iranian nuclear weapons and five years before Iran can purchase Russian weaponry.  If we wait another 10 years to deal with the problems from ISIS, refugees, failed Islamic states, Russian aggression, Chinese militarization, and North Korea then we will find ourselves attacked on our soil, irrelevant on the international stage, and sucked into wars that have the potential to kill more Americans than all of our past conflicts combined.   

Our next president must return us to a foreign policy that puts our national security first.  At that time, we can revisit the Iranian deal, remilitarize ourselves to counter Russian and Chinese aggression, protect Israel, and guarantee the American people that we will never again involve ourselves in another Sunni-Shia conflict. American interests must be put first.

Dustin Berna, Ph.D.
Nova Southeastern University

About the Author: Dustin Berna, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of Conflict Resolution and Political Science at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. He is also the Director of Assessment and Planning for the college. 

Berna's research specializations include Middle Eastern politics, Islamic fundamentalism, religious extremism, social movements, terrorism, and political institutions. He has taught classes on the Iraq War, Islamic politics, Middle Eastern politics, terrorism, political violence, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, the politics of developing states, revolutions, international negotiation and violence prevention. Berna has written numerous articles on topics that range from terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism to Iranian political institutions and Islamic democracy. Berna has experience working with print and broadcast media.

Berna earned his doctorate from the University of New Orleans in 2008. His two major fields of study were Middle Eastern politics and international relations. American political institutions were third and minor field. His dissertation was a quantitative study that evaluated the causes and electoral success of Islamic fundamentalist movements. Berna has collected and coded every Islamic fundamentalist group that is, or has been, in operation in the Islamic world since 1970.

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution with more than 24,000 students, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie's Community Engagement Classification, and is also the  largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education's criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information.

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