WASHINGTON—The United States must support democracy globally to protect both national and international security, said panelists at the second annual Capitol Hill National Security Forum on June 21. Panelists discussed U.S. and global democracy relations and the importance of the United States becoming leaders in technological strategy.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) kicked off the discussion “How Support for Democracy Strengthens U.S. National Security,” by asking Kenneth Wollack, president of the National Democratic Institute how democracy helps shape national security.
Wollack said most places the Department of Defense considers to be the “arch of instability” are nondemocratic places—places where terrorists lie, refugees flee from, and they produce drugs, according to Wollack.
“If our ultimate foreign policy objective is a world that is more humane, safe, and peaceful, and stable,” Wollack said, “then it is in our national interest that these countries become democratic.”
According to Coons, public support for encouraging the United States to help rising democracies is needed, since a democracy is essential to and promotes national security. U.S. support for democracies would also undermine other countries’ attempts to suppress democracy in their own nations.
Additionally, Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) discussed Congress’ major roles in technological advancement and international artificial intelligence leadership.
Royce said the three main challenges the United States faces include nuclear proliferation threats from North Korea, the spread of misinformation in Russia, and the competition for a high-standard, rules-based trade system. But he added that for Congress to be effective in developing plans to help other nations, it must be able to speak with one voice.
“Our role in foreign affairs is to make sure that we have a dedicated route of diplomats on the ground empowered with our support,” Royce said. “The State Department has that ultimate responsibility to . . . mitigate those conflicts so they don’t end up in terms of full-scale war.”
Moreover, the reason the United States must form its own sophisticated national security strategy—that involves private and public sectors—is that China’s rapidly advancing cyber technology is a serious threat.
Risch suggested having human firewalls throughout computerized programs to defend against cyberattacks and noted that the tendency when it came to security was to always computerize everything. But the more programs that are computerized, the more vulnerable they are.
He also said the United States isn’t currently ready to withstand a full-blown cyberattack from China.
“We don’t know what we don’t know, and they keep learning more things on that and they keep getting better at it.” Risch said. “I think the next [big] incident in America . . . something like 9/11, I think that next incident is going to be a cyber incident.”
During the “Technology and Innovation in the Intelligence Community” session, panelists discussed the implications of the United States not taking control of national security technological innovation soon enough.
George Barnes, deputy director of the National Security Agency, stressed the importance of the United States being first in the new technological strategies race. He said the United States must have a national strategy that outlines the roles of government and the private sector for a clear definition of each institution’s responsibilities.
“We have to do better because China plays the long game,” Barnes said. “They’re very thoughtful, strategic, and they’re taking steps that may not be realized for 20 years, but they’re taking them, and they’re bold.”
Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also noted the importance of a new U.S. national security strategy being something momentous—a “man-on-the-moon” type of proclamation. According to Cardillo, Ukraine and Russia are doing the “latest-and-greatest” when it comes to electronic warfare, thus the United States should be creating the latest-and-greatest counter-electronic warfare.
“The easiest way to lose this race is to not know we’re in it,” Cardillo said. “And I don’t believe we know we’re in it.”
These panel discussions were part of the forum that covered other pressing national security issues, from securing the homeland and discussions on the future fighting force to middle east and Asia security concerns. Read additional Homeland411 coverage of the forum here. View the entire forum here.
Tahreem Alam is a staff writer for Homeland411.
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