Global Warming

I recently attended an event at the Pitt Student Union on National Security.  The panel, consisting of COL Mike Hoadley, COL John Cho, COL Thomas Evans, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kelly, Lt. Col. Mike Sweeney, and COL Lora Tucker, discussed the current state of our military.  The event began a little shaky when protesters yelled at the panel to leave and to “stop killing innocent babies.”  Once the Pitt Police were called however, the protesters left and the event continued on.  COL Mike Hoadley from the US Army remarked, “we we’re invited here, so we will stay.”  After a brief introduction on each panel member’s expertise, the discussion was opened up to questioning. 

One audience member asked COL Thomas Evans from the US Army how long he thinks it will take for Iraqi Police to become independent.  Evans responded that it will most likely take awhile because the US is “changing the mindset of generations.”  He explained that in March 2003 there were zero Iraqi policemen because the police force had become the target of the Iraqi people after Saddam Hussein had been thrown out of power.  Under Saddam’s rule, he had ordered the police to suppress the Iraqi people, creating a strong hatred towards the Iraqi police, so once he was overthrown, the Iraqi people burned police stations and went after policemen.  However, the US Army has been able to train new policemen as there are currently 270,000 Iraqi policemen.  Evans notes that the crime rate has increasedby in Iraq since 2003, but believes that “Iraqi crime has not gone up, but rather the reporting of crime has.” 

Another question asked during the discussion was why Guantanamo Bay was opened in the first place.  COL Lora Tucker of the US Army responded to this question saying that it is the best strategic location to gather information.  She explained that confinement at sea and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas were the other options considered before choosing Guantanamo Bay.  Tucker continued on discussing the current debate in Supreme Court over whether detainees in Guantanamo Bay should have rights to US federal courts.  She said that this is a serious issue because anyone brought onto US soil has the right to courts, and since Guantanamo Bay is US leased land this issue is being hotly debated. 

 Another question asked was what is the biggest threat to national security.  Lt. Col. Mike Sweeney of the US Marine Corps said it is the energy issue.  He explained that India and China are emerging in the technology field and the US will soon be competing with them for energy, which has the potential to very problematic.  Sweeney suggested that the US invest in upcoming technology and nuclear power.  Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kelly of the US Air Force commented that the US needs to secure Iraq because its oil region will affect our future economy.  Tucker added that she believes there are several large threats to national security that include an asymmetrical extremist threat, global scanning, and the national debt.  Evans agreed with Tucker, saying that an asymmetrical extremist threat on the US soil is the biggest threat to national security. 

Mike Sweeney concluded the event while responding to the final question on nuclear weapons in the army.  He explained that “it is unlikely will we be able to solve problems with a treaty in the future” and warned that “we must keep all options on the table.”