The real national security threat: America's debt

Los Angeles Times ^ | 07/03/2012 | Kenneth Lieberthal and Michael O'Hanlon

[SeekAndFind]

Drones, kill lists, computer viruses and administration leaks are all the rage in the current political debate. They indeed merit serious scrutiny at a time when the rules of war, and technologies available for war, are changing fast. That said, these issues are not the foreign policy centerpiece of the 2012 presidential race.

Economic renewal and fiscal reform have become the preeminent issues, not only for domestic and economic policy but for foreign policy as well. As the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm.Michael G. Mullen, was fond of saying, national debt has become perhaps our top national security threat. And neither major presidential candidate is doing enough about it. This issue needs to be framed as crucial not just for our future prosperity but for international stability as well.

The United States has been running trillion-dollar deficits, resulting in a huge explosion in the country's indebtedness. Publicly held debt now equals 70% of gross domestic product, a threshold many economists consider significant and highly worrisome. Making matters worse, half of our current deficit financing is being provided by foreigners. We are getting by with low interest rates and tolerable levels of domestic investment only because they find U.S. debt attractive, which may not last.

According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, President Obama's long-term budget plan would allow publicly held debt as a fraction of GDP to rise further, up to 75%, within a decade.

[deadrock]

That was the threat before Oslama doubled it.

[chuckee]

For me, the debt and the annual deficit are the preeminent issue above all others. The internal enemy the national debt far exceeds the threat posed by any external enemy. Obama and the Dems are the greatest protector of our internal enemy.

[veracious]

Yes the debt is the most serious enemy; the single one which can and will destroy USA, if not delt severely with.

However, USG and the Reserve are the reason for the debt. Any change to the debt without returning to proper money, as required by our fathers, can not seriously change the course we’re on...

[napscoordinator]

Why not have an America Debt relief concert...We do it with all the other countries. Send it International. Individual Americans calling up with a donation after hearing one of our singers singing a catchy toon. I know this seems unreal for the United States of America, but these are unique times.