Defense and Treaties
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- Sovereign nations have the inherent right to defend themselves from hostile actions launched against them, but not to subdue peaceful speech by protestors against their rule.
- Maintain U.S. military supremacy by preserving strategic and tactical defense capabilities, responsibly adjusting force deployment levels of existing military assets to always maintain maximum advantage, and researching and deploying new technologies as will sustain, enhance, or replace aging capabilities.
- Deploy a missile defense system insofar as it becomes scientifically feasible, and let research on such a system continue and receive increased funding, while imposing strict accountability and testing standards to the program and the researchers.
CONTROL OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND WMDs
Due to the increasing spread of nuclear weapons in ever smaller packaging, let the U.S. take leadership in a greater commitment to decreasing nuclear arms and restricting nuclear material worldwide, thus reducing the nuclear option for those involved in conflict.
- Since control of such weapons programs is virtually impossible without aggressive inspection, let a new worldwide inspection system now be initiated by the U.S. Make every country, without exception, subject to this inspection system, with safeguards to ensure that there is no advantage accorded to stronger countries or any discrimination against weaker countries.
- If need be, ensure equality of weaker countries with stronger ones by granting authority to each to do its own inspection of any other country it chooses, using its own team of inspectors.
- Let all locations within a country, no matter how secret or sensitive, be subject to inspection if there is a risk of such weapons or weapons materials being stored there.
- And as the need arises, apply this inspection system also to other categories of weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical weapons or germ-warfare weapons, depending upon the level of advancement in such weapons technology.
Permit no further nations to acquire or develop nuclear weapons. Accept as a fait accompli that such weapons are in the hands of a select group of nations, but take whatever action is necessary to ensure that no new nations join this group.
THE DECISION TO MAKE WAR
- In the event of hostilities, require an explicit declaration of war, passed by majorities of both houses of Congress and identifying the enemy in question, as a qualifying condition for continuing any deployment which places U.S. military forces in a combat environment beyond seven days.
- Designate it as "high crime," and thus impeachable, for the President to lie to the public or deceive citizens or members of Congress, or prompt other officials to do so, for the purpose of rallying public sympathy in favor of or against going to war.
WAR POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
Uphold the President's Constitutional authority to conduct war, including the war on terror, with oversight but no interference from other branches of government, including power to detain suspected enemies or enemy agents and do searches and intercept private communications without court order, provided that those targeted are explicitly named or identified in the declaration of war passed by Congress.
Require full accounting:
- Ensure that appropriate members of Congress receive complete information on any use of the President's war power, with no option for the President to withhold any details.
- Ensure that procedures are in place to bring any abuses of presidential power to immediate exposure and to initiate corrective measures, including impeachment proceedings.
RESPONSIBLE USE OF MILITARY FORCE ABROAD
Follow these safeguards when extending U.S. military power around the globe:
- Do not use weapons which have been banned by international agreement, such as prohibited chemical weapons or napalm or others, but comply in good faith without seeking loopholes in the law or trying technically to circumvent it and violate its clear intent.
- Obey international agreements and U.S. laws on humane treatment of prisoners, and ensure that cases of prisoner abuse are exposed and responsible persons held accountable, including at higher levels. In cases of aggressive interrogation, limit the procedures to those that are effective and necessary to enable taking preventive action to protect lives of Americans and civilians.
- Never commit U.S. military forces to overthrowing a leader who was democratically elected, no matter how distasteful that regime's policies may be, and instead seek in those cases to promote U.S. interests or values only through non-military means, with possible exception in case of genocide or where the elected leaders have usurped power from the people that was not democratically given to them.
- Do not be dependent upon any one company or defense contractor to provide supplies or weapons or services to armed forces, but cultivate relationships with many suppliers, all of which are to compete with each other on quality and cost. Do not enter into no-bid contracts with any company. Require full accounting of all funds expended.
- For "nation-building" or reconstruction projects, make maximum use of the local population as the source of labor and minimum use of Americans, who must be paid at much higher wage levels.