Dominant Logistics

A Blueprint for Homeland Defense

There is much debate today about the nature of national defense and the establishment of a Homeland Security Agency within the federal government.  Ignored in these debates is the issue of what exactly will it take to establish a proper defense of the American homeland.  Building a bureaucracy is not establishing a defense; we need to determine what this department should be doing.   The problem is that our current defense structure includes no provisions for defensive capability, only offensive.  The following is a list of 25 simple steps that can be taken to dramatically reduce the potential of future attacks on the United States.  Not all of them are necessarily easy and many will be quite expensive.   This is what I believe it will take:

1.    End the War on Drugs. 
Every prison cell occupied by a pothead is a cell that should be occupied by a real criminal. The time, money and personnel could be put to much better use fighting terrorists.  We spend tens of billions of dollars every year to fight the war on drugs.  Those personnel currently utilized in the War on Drugs are ideally suited to transition to fighting terrorism here at home as they are already well versed in search and seizure activities as well as clandestine tracking.  While I personally support the idea of legalization, ending the "War" doesn't require this - it only requires that we use our resources for more pressing concerns.

2.    Bring all overseas military personnel and equipment home. 
We waste billions of dollars every year on forward deployed forces only to call on the Airborne and Marines every time a conflict arises because the equipment in storage is too difficult to move.  This will also decrease some of the foreign backlash that occurs because other nations don't like having our tanks in their backyards.  Forgotten in the debates about terrorism is the fact that military assets overseas are perfectly legitimate targets.  These overseas assets serve little to no useful purpose and could be much better utilized here at home.

3.    Secure the borders. 
We need to clearly establish both our northern and southern borders with fencing where possible and by electronic means elsewhere.  Having open borders is one thing - having NO borders is quite another.  Immigration is the basis of the American experience but to simply ignore the borders and to allow anyone who desires to enter the country destroys the entire reason people have desired to become Americans.  Securing the borders does not mean ending immigration.  It means watching for who is entering and leaving the country and keeping tabs on those who are "visiting."

4.    Establish secure air zones around every population area greater than 100,000. 
This would consist of a 10-mile wide no-fly zone with a 5-mile kill zone.  This would apply strictly to larger commercial aircraft that are not entering or exiting the center.   Some will call this overkill but if you think about it, shouldn't these transiting planes have better flight plans anyway?  This step is common sense if for no other reason than reduction in potential accidents.  Remove the overwhelming majority of ADA assets from the conventional military and redistribute them to form the kill zones.   Any military enemy that poses a significant aerial threat is an enemy we will never willingly go to war with.  If something serious should arise, we can borrow these assets as needed. 

5.    Establish secure naval zones around major ports. 
Construct islands for docks a minimum of one mile out for pier facilities similar to the construction of Kansai airport in Japan.  Security zone should be 5 miles in diameter with no commercial vessels inside that have not been fully inspected/scanned accept those that are moving to the islands for inspection.  Access bridges and piers form artificial reefs and internal area bans commercial fishing so eco-weanies don't throw a fit.  These facilities could also include airport facilities tailored to cargo transport.  In essence, we would be creating commercial transport hubs.  By relocating these hubs away from the populated areas, the potential effect of a terrorist strike by these means becomes minimal.  This also provides benefits to society by moving major commercial transport operations away from the population and freeing up valuable coastal lands.  Also relieves congestion at airports by relocating cargo aircraft.

6.    Patrol security zones with weapon carrying turbo-prop aircraft. 
Naval zones should also employ weapon carrying patrol boats.  Again, these are assets that will occasionally be needed by the conventional military and will thus be available.   This type of activity is the proper role of the Coast Guard - not chasing after drug runners in speedboats.

7.    Give the Army Corps of Engineers a real job.
Bury all existing aboveground power and communication lines.  This reduces vulnerabilities to terrorism and EMP as well as natural problems like storms.  We use above ground lines because they are cheaper but they are also far more vulnerable to problems like terrorism.

8.    Modify all existing subways systems to work as fallout and chemical shelters. 
All passenger trains should be equipped with NBC over-pressure systems.  All National Guard facilities, airports, and bus stations should also include shelter facilities.   We don't need to build massive fallout shelters to provide effective civil defense - existing systems like subways can performm the job with simple modifications while providing non-defense services as well.  Lobbies can be utilized as decon areas while doors would seal up the tunnels and a filtered air system would provide for over-pressure to keep chemicals and fallout out of the shelter.  Add rooms to hold necessary supplies and these systems could hold thousands if not millions of citizens safe from harm in the event of WMD attacks.

9.    Take this time to bring back the Second Amendment. 
Let's be honest here, which is more likely to occur?  With our heightened state of readiness, terrorists will again seize commercial airliners and ram them into buildings?   Or is it far more likely that much smaller groups will obtain automatic rifles (readily available on the black market), slap on some body armor (ditto), get jacked up on crank or PCP (ditto), and hit the malls for opening day of "Infidel Season" (the Friday after Thanksgiving, single biggest shopping day of the year for that favorite of Muslim holidays, Christmas).  People need the ability to defend themselves.

10.    Field a force of 400 aircraft specific to the mission of homeland defense. 
This force should consist of 200 modified C-17 aircraft with water-dropping equipment, as well as communications relay and command and control equipment; 50 Boeing 747s that can fill in for destroyed communication and commercial satellites; and 150 UAV-capable U-2 aircraft.  These will maintain a constant patrol to be the eyes and ears of homeland defense as well as providing some other capabilities like enhancing our ability to fight major fires - an environmental issue out west but also a serious issue if a nuke is ever detonated in a major population center.  The 747s can be older units that commercial carriers are finished with that would be modified and kept on stand-by.  The U-2 operates at altitudes well above the operating areas of commercial planes so there wouldn't be any interference there plus they are inexpensive to build and operate. 

11.    Use retiring ICBMs as launch vehicles.
Older ICBMs should be modified to launch emergency satellites while working to develop a gun-based launching system so we can replace satellites faster and easier than future enemies can take them out.  While this isn't an issue today, it can easily become one in the future.  Given our reliance on satellite technologies, it is critical that we address this shortcoming in our defense infrastructure. 

12.    Carry on with efforts to develop a legitimate missile defense network. 
Don't wait until the threat is here - be ready for it before it arrives.  That means getting a working system operational as quick as possible to get the bugs worked out before it needs to be relied upon for real.  An interesting idea was proposed by Harry Browne to offer a $50 billion cash reward for the first real working missile defense system - not a bad idea at all. 

13.    Monitor All Commercial Vehicle Traffic.
Every commercial vehicle, regardless of type and nature, should be equipped with GPS tracking capabilities and the activities of these vehicles should be recorded.  The Bill of Rights is to protect the citizens of the nation, not corporate interests.   The companies should have access to the data on their vehicles as a service but we need to be keeping track of the activities of all commercial vehicles.  After all, you can't build a truck bomb without a truck.

14.    Develop an Real Immigration Database
All immigrants should be fingerprinted, retina scanned, x-rayed, and full-body nude photographed prior to entry into the country.  Instead of the conventional visa, a small GPS tracking device should be used.  All immigrants would be required to call in to an automated phone service at regular periods to verify functioning of the tracking device and random checks should also be made.  Failure to possess the device would be a federal offense with prison time. 

15.    Convert older bases that should be closed into holding areas for illegal immigrants. 
With as much excess land as the federal government has, there is no reason that illegals should be released into the general population.

16.    Bring back Alcatraz. 
This facility would be ideal for holding terrorists and other national security risks.   Putting these types of individuals into the general prison populations is a huge problem waiting to happen.  Already, conversion to Islam is becoming widespread in the prison systems and this will inevitably lead to the spread of radicalism if these people are placed in the general prison population. 

17.    Convert older, unused bases into commercial projects and sell them off. 
These older bases are a drain on funding and resources that the military and the taxpayers cannot afford.  This land is ideal for projects like commercial airports, nuclear power plants, prisons, and a variety of other roles.

18.    Hold a federal government fire sale to pay off the national debt. 
The federal government currently holds trillions of dollars in assets that it has no need for (land, buildings, companies, etc.).  Think E-Bay.  We wipe out the debt and convert Social Security to something other than a Ponzi scheme.  This alone would save taxpayers about $400 billion per year just in the interest on the debt.   Military security cannot come at the expense of economic security.  Without the economy, there will be no America to defend.

19.    Bring back a true standard for the American dollar.
Currently, the American dollar has no inherent worth and this is dangerous given the possibilities of asymmetric warfare.  For all the talk of the dangers of cyberwarfare, the only real threat posed by this form of war is attacks on the financial stability of the nation.  Today, we literally create money out of thin air; a savvy enemy will one day do this as well to devastate the American economy and finance other types of asymmetric attacks.  Many are opposed to a gold standard and I can sympathize with their arguments.  So why not have a variety of commodities fully backing the dollar?  Why not use a combination of Gold, Silver, Platinum, Titanium, Diamonds, Uranium, and Plutonium?  This selection of potential assets allows the government to hold sufficient quantities of goods without disrupting the commodities market for the goods themselves.  This also allows other nations to pay debts to the United States in assets other than cash.  Excess commodities can then be used in lieu of cash for defense payments as these materials are all used in defense goods.

20.    Come up with a real energy policy for the nation.  
We need to end our reliance on Middle East oil and expand on nuclear production of electricity.  Canada holds more potential oil production via oil sands than the Middle East and Venezuela is not far behind. Russia would also be a better source of oil.   And expanding nuclear power production will allow us to burn up our excess nuclear fuel from the Cold War to produce energy.  This approach is better for the environment, better for the American economy, and reduces our exposure to potential terrorism.

21.    Reduce the federal government. 
Most of what the feds currently do is completely unconstitutional and counterproductive.   Let the states do their jobs and get rid of Amtrak, the US Postal Service, HUD, HHS, and the other agencies that are predominantly wastes of taxpayer money.  The federal government needs to focus on its primary Constitutional role - providing for the common defense.

22.    End the income tax in favor of a national sales tax. 
Most won't see the security implications here but it is quite simple.  If we're a free nation, how come the government gets the money you earn before you do?  This move also frees up the entire IRS to be merged into the INS.  When's the last time you saw a tax-dodger stay "missing" for any length of time?

23.    Permanently end the practice of economic sanctions by a Constitutional amendment. 
This barbaric practice serves no purpose other than to instigate war.  There is simply nothing honorable or just about waging economic warfare on civilian populations in a pathetic attempt to instigate a change in a totalitarian government.  It is not possible for a civilian population to rise up against a dictator when the economy of the nation is crushed by sanctions. 

24.    Permanently end the Federal Reserve System. 
Contrary to popular belief, the Federal Reserve is a private organization with complete and total control over the single most critical aspect of American life - the dollar.   The Constitution grants Congress the power to coin money and they need to get off their butts and start doing their jobs again.  As with the previously mentioned threat to money from cyberwarfare, the Federal Reserve, in and of itself poses a threat to the United States through its control of money and lack of accountability.

25.    The time has come to revise our policies towards secrecy. 
For too many years, secrecy has had too little to do with security and too much to do with politics.  When less than half of all Americans vote, it is apparent that the people have lost faith in the government.  As the statute of limitations is good for seven years, no level of secrecy should allow information to remain sealed for this length of time.  Any operation lasting longer than five years is an operation that the American government should not be involved in.  A law should be passed, accompanied by Presidential pardons for those cases older than five years to get things going, which fully releases all information currently held under secrecy laws.  Think of this as a purging of the American conscience.  We also need to release the information hidden within budgets and other government documents that are protected under secrecy laws but are really little more than people engaging in CYA.  It is not possible to engage in effective defense if we cannot even be honest about our own actions and capabilities.

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