Americans should applaud the bold changes that President Barack Obama and General James L. Jones are bringing to the National Security Council, said PNSR Executive Director James R. Locher III.

In response to a Feb. 8 Washington Post article “Obama’s NSC Will Get New Power, Locher issued the following statement:

“The Obama Administration and General Jones understand that the national security system is outmoded at best, and at worst, puts the nation at risk. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the troubled operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina, show that the current system is failing badly. We should not wait for another catastrophic event to take place on American soil before recognizing the extent of the system’s flaws. 

We must approach the national security challenges of the future with a renewed sense of urgency. Too often, our unity of purpose has been clouded by competing departmental interests, leaving our security entirely on the ability of national leaders to overcome bureaucratic wrangling. The administration’s decisions provide encouraging evidence that the newly assembled national security team will marshal all the instruments of national power and work as one with a singular vision and purpose. 

General Jones’ new direction is both visionary and pragmatic. Breaking away from the norm is essential to freeing ourselves from the confines of the old, broken system. But it will take more than one man to reform the national security system. Congress must pass a new National Security Act to replace the obsolete legislation created in 1947. Still, for now, Americans can take solace that General Jones, one of its top leaders, has taken that first step.”

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Frances Hardin

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Judith Evans

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