Nowadays, the issue of national security has become one of the most controversial in terms of its perception around the globe. On the one hand, the 21st century was not marked by any explicit world-scale armed conflicts, whereas governmental bodies spend millions of dollars on the enhancement of national security. One of the most powerful states in this context is considered to be the US, claiming to spend more than 900 billion dollars on defense in 2019 (Collins, 2020). The reason for such an impressive provision may be influenced by the number of external threats to the states’ national security and welfare.
When speaking of potential threats to the US, the two major kinds of threats can be outlined. The first group concerns global threats that, to some extent, affect states regardless of their location or national peculiarities. The first global security threat deals with cybercrimes that can easily jeopardize national safety. Some of the most widespread cyber threats include attacks and espionage arranged by other states’ legislators (Coats, 2019). In fact, in the context of the 21st century, the notion of cyber attacks can be considered synonymic to the proclamation of armed conflict. The most potentially dangerous cyberattack launchers are Russia, China, and Iran. Another serious global threat is terrorism, which has influenced the whole world in a matter of two past decades. When speaking of the US, this problem has its roots both inside and outside the state, influencing regional and national security. Among the other global threats to security, human security, election interference, and transnational organized crime can also be outlined.
The second group deals with regional threats dangerous to the US. Among all the regions that expose the most threat to US national security, China and Russia should be pointed out. These two large states have been cooperating for the last five years in order to pool their efforts in the competition with the US. Moreover, the overall military potential in these two countries makes the US legislature pay much attention to the state military resources in case of an emergency.
Regarding the hazards surrounding the US national security, it is important to estimate whether all the investments in the military supplies make sense in terms of actual conditions. While the US can be considered as one of the sufficient states when it comes to the military supply, there are a few opportunities when such a provision could be efficient. When examining today’s world, it is evident that the anti-gun policy has gained much recognition lately, and the slightest act of violence might lead to full-scale war. Hence, while the American military is quite powerful, such power requires a high level of responsibility for one’s actions, limiting the scope of the state’s potential.
When dealing with the problem of national safety, it is important to bear in mind that the military is not the only way to secure the state’s borders, as it also implies encouraging the development of diplomacy, intelligence, and economics. While economics and diplomacy, to a great extent, depend on the state executives and legislature, it is up to fellow residents to increase the intelligence rate in the country (TedEd, 2013). Once all these aspects are developed to an extent when all the issues could be resolved by negotiations, the military would become insignificant in terms of national security.
References
Coats, D. R. (2019). Worldwide threat assessment of the US intelligence community: Statement for the record. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Collins, P. (2020). Why does the US spend so much on defense?
TedEd. (2013). How is power divided in the United States government? – Belinda Stutzman [Video]. YouTube.