Defense

Defense should be conducted with intelligence more than brute force, with a surgeons knife instead of a bat. Imagine the safety and security gained if we brought most of our resources home and kept our foreign interventions to a minimum. More soldiers at home means less spending abroad.

We have the highest tech military on the planet. This advantage should be utilized to get soldiers out of foreign lands. Higher technology military products can outperform the mass scale, men on the ground buildup, with its associated mass spending and associated slaughter of our finest. Surgical unmanned operations come with less human cost and are more effective.

"Carry a big stick ..." The occupation of a country like Iraq for ambiguous reasons does not put forth our message of integrity. It is more psychologically effective if a decisive strike is utilized only after a clear line is crossed.

Lay down rules and strictly enforce them. One of the main reasons we started the Iraq quagmire was because Hussein denied us access to sensitive areas where he was, supposedly, harboring WMD's. In our model, there would have been an ultimatum in place. 24 hours after access is denied, the area in question is leveled. Let the oppressor dictate his own outcome.

A portion of defense spending should be to spread information and goodwill. Let the people of a region know that we are fervently working for their survival, prosperity and automomy. Stop the anti-US sentiment at the source.

"Boots on the ground" circumstances are restricted and will require an act of congress. Surveillance, and military training when requested by an emerging democracy, are limited exceptions.