Is Everything a Matter of National Security?

Chris, Melanie, and Zack debate whether national security has
been defined too loosely. If too many things fall under the
category of national security, do we risk missing the really
important ones? How should policymakers decide what is a national
security threat--and what isn’t? What are the first-order
national security threats facing the United States? And how can
government decision-makers impose some discipline on how they
think about and manage true national security threats? Grievances
for China’s (other) bad behavior in the South China Sea and to
the Military Sealift Command for taking 17 support ships out of
service due to inadequate staffing. Attapeople for the Biden
administration in helping to keep the U.S.-Chinese relationship
from going completely off the rails; to the U.S. intelligence
community and the U.S. media for their deft handling of Iranian
attempted election interference; and to Ely Ratner and others in
the Biden administration for negotiating a new compact with
India.


This episode's reading.