On safe havens . . .

Going after every regional safe haven presents many challenges, and some would say it is better that we retreat within our borders and build a, "Fortress America," as a means of self defense. I present the following, originally posted as a comment on Abu Muqawama:

Fortress America has the advantage of being the cheapest course of action, but that is about it.

It doesn't take a lot to stir the pot and foster resentment against the US. Like it or not, wherever someone sees economic expansion eroding human welfare, we will be seen as the culprit. We are the face of Globalization, and will continue to be so for the next several decades at least.

Certainly our involvement in Southwest Asia was minuscule in September of 2001 in comparison to what it is today. But that was not enough to protect us. We can't have American security without global security, whether it be military, economic, or social in nature.

Firewalling ourselves off from the world can't protect our businesses that rely on international trade and finance to function, it will leave a tremendous security gap in many regions that rely on the US military presence for regional stability. If we pull out of the southwest Pacific, regional players like Japan and China will step up and quite possibly trigger an arms race. If we pull out of Southwest Asia, the same will occur with Saudi Arabia and Iran. It won't take long for these problems to reach us back on our continent.

The real key is to work with regional partners to create a cooperative global security establishment. Build up the AU and let them address Somalia. Work with the PLAN to patrol the Malacca Straits, Create partnerships with Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to address the poppy trade.

We won't go after every terrorist haven, but we will train, equip, and support the regional leaders that do. We set the agenda and give the locals a push in the right direction, and let them do it their way. I think that is the real essence of a, "New American Security."