A Strategy and Legacy Inspired by 9/11

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, the late Senator John McCain argued in favor of maintaining a military presence in Iraq, which he called “a very volatile part of the world where al qa’ida is training, recruiting, equipping, and motivating people.”   McCain was articulating the late Charles Krauthammer’s strategy of “forward defense”, where we confront our enemies “over there” rather than allow them to plan and execute attacks on our homeland from ungoverned space.

The United States is protected by two great oceans, and enjoys mostly productive relationships with our neighbors to the south and to the north.  Throughout our history, there has been a strong desire not to become overly entangled in world affairs. But  McCain and Krauthammer were proponents of a globalist national security strategy, which entailed forward deployed intelligence collection, diplomacy, and when justified, military engagement.