Economic Crisis Underlines Need for U.S. National Security Reform

As the IMF and the Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee meet in Washington this weekend, they will undoubtedly be discussing what most Americans are only dimly aware of: The recession is a global national security problem. The American people must understand that the economic crisis will be manifested not only in lost jobs and incomes -- it will be felt in enhanced dangers to U.S. national security and homeland security.In February, Director of National Intelligence Adm. Dennis C. Blair told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence the top national security threat facing the U.S. is the economic crisis. "Besides increased economic nationalism, the most likely political fallout for U.S. interests will involve allies and friends not being able to fully meet their defense andhumanitarian obligations," Blair said.Iraq is one such unstable ally. The global economic crisis is beginning to severely affect Iraq's reconstruction. The primary sources of the country's money -- oil revenues and American financial support -- have both plummeted. As a result, Iraq is less able to rebuild and meet its basic defense needs.The Iraqi prime minister's chief of staff said at a press conference in late February that the nation's defense budget was literally only half of what was needed. A member of parliament on the security committee told reporters there wasn't nearly enough money to fund the army to stand on its own by the end of 2011, citing a laundry list of underfunded military needs from artillery to air power.In addition, the unemployment rate for men between the ages of 15 and 29 -- prime militia recruits -- is nearly 30 percent, yet the Iraqi government will be forced to institute a hiring freeze to keep costs under control. Lack of services and jobs has been a prime feeder for the anti-American insurgency in places like northwestern Iraq.Iraq's economic-related defense woes pose great risks to U.S. security. The U.S. has staked its credibility in Iraq, and leaving it behind as an unstable country could have serious consequences. Possible scenarios include Iraq becoming a training ground for terrorists; emboldening a strengthened Iran to dominate its weaker neighbor, hitherto its chief opponent; and signaling to America's friends and foes that the U.S. is weak, unreliable and vulnerable.And, of course, Iraq is only one vulnerable country. Russia, Eastern European nations, Venezuela, China, Mexico, Afghanistan -- the stability of all these vital nations is at risk because of the global economy. And yet, for reasons of inertia and groupthink, their economic woes are too often seen by our national security system as unrelated to their political and social problems. But history has shown repeatedly the dangers nations' economic ills pose to their stability. Recall that it was largely an economic crisis that brought down the Soviet Union less than two decades ago.Moreover, our weakened economy will make it difficult to sustain the effort needed to protect our interests abroad and to defend the homeland against terrorists. Will the American people be willing to fund the reconstruction of a foreign country when the infrastructure at home is crumbling? What about maintaining a sizable military capable of deterring and winning future wars? The larger problem here is that our national security system frequently sees threats too narrowly. We have to broaden the scope of national security beyond its traditional definition of external aggression. Any large-scale societal disruption needs to be considered for its security threats, whether resulting from natural disasters, climate change, financial crises, the failure of major infrastructure, or other non-traditional dangers. They require the sustained stewardship of all aspects of national power, just as security from aggression does. Prioritizing aggression at the expense of non-traditional threats makes little sense in the 21st century, when borders are porous and threats global. This assessment has been backed by many informed voices in addition to Blair, from Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to the congressionally mandated think tank, the Project on National Security Reform. Of course, none of this matters unless the American people get on board. That is why it is imperative for the public to grasp the severity of the national security aspects of the economic crisis. Not every day do the fluctuations of the financial world pose grave dangers to U.S. security. But if the recession poses a threat, it also offers an opportunity to reform the national security system. Winston Churchill was quoted as saying you could always count on the Americans to do the right thing -- after they tried everything else. If there was ever a time we needed to get it right, this is it.Norman R. Augustine is a former Under Secretary of the Army, and former Chairman and CEO of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Phillips Petroleum, Proctor & Gamble, Black and Decker, and Lockheed Martin.Photo: President Barack Obama's first cabinet meeting, April 20, 2009 (White House photo by Pete Souza).

WHEN SHOULD KIDS START SPORTS?

It's not easy to determine how early to start children in organized sports. Children of the same age vary considerably in their physical and psychological maturation, and there is no practical method of measuring maturity. Assuming the child has shown interest, five or six is the generally accepted earliest starting age for organized team sports. At the early ages participation should be limited to sports that involve a lot of physical activity and encourage the development of major motor muscles.

Children in grades 1 - 4 can benefit most from games that are modified to meet their needs and abilities. Play and fun are more important to this age group than highly structured sports that emphasize the outcome rather than the process. Parents and coaches are usually the ones concerned about winning and losing. When helping your child select a sport, keep balance in mind. Encourage your children to try many sports and activities when young and not to think of specializing or playing competitively until they reach middle school. Make sure a balance also occurs between adult organized activities and free playtime. Children need time to just be kids and to play with other kids without a set of rules or adult involvement.

The most important decisions to make, are which youth sports organizations and which coaches are best for your child. Make sure that you take the time to find out about the league, its leaders and coaches. Better yet, get involved and volunteer to coach. Participating in sports is a healthy way, both physically and socially, for your children to channel their youthful energy in a positive direction. Make sure your children's first experience encourages them to begin a lifelong interest in physical activities and good health.

There are many other options besides team sports available to a child who wants to participate in sports. Parents should also encourage their children to become involved in individual and lifetime sports such as bowling, golf, swimming, tennis, gymnastics and martial arts. You can find information about these sports by visiting the facilities or through the yellow pages of the phone book.

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Swimming for his life

CATALINA ISLAND -- The Bottom Scratcher chugs into Doctor's Cove just before midnight.
Maybe it's the hour or salt air or three hours sloshing through 5-foot swells, but all 28 people aboard have grown quiet. Gone are the easy chatter and smiles flashed back at Pier C in Long Beach Harbor. This could be a long, cruel night.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush," says Greg Farrier, 40, applying Vaseline to his underarms. "I'm nervous. I'm not sure I'm a lock to finish.

"
Once he was a world-class swimmer: a member of the Mission Viejo Nadadores in their heyday. He swam alongside world-record holders and Olympians. He rose to the top 1 percent nationally. He was edged out of the Olympics by future gold medalists Jeff Rouse and David Berkoff.
Then he quit. Burned out on endless laps, 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls and near misses. For 20 years, it's haunted him – if only he hadn't quit.
"I always wonder what could've been," he says.

He graduated USC. Got a job. A wife. Three kids. He got bigger. Less athletic. And bigger still. Until one day last year he asked himself: What if?
What if I swam the Catalina Channel? No quitting. No backing out. His first trip to the pool, he couldn't finish two laps. But he stuck with it. From pool to ocean to longer swims to winter swims. In January, he swam 10 miles – in 56-degree water.

"My first big test," he says. "I was all smiles."
In March, he hit 12 miles. In April, 13½ miles. Right on schedule.
Then things went haywire: shoulder pain, sharks, doubt. He lost his job and almost his house. For 10 days, he stayed out of the water. Some would call what happened next luck. Some, divine intervention. But out of the blue, Farrier met a family that taught him about perseverance. They're on board tonight too.

"It's show time," someone below says.
Farrier poses for pictures, kisses his wife, Irene, and kids.
"I'll see you on the other side," he says.
"You can do it – I'm right there with you," she says.
The furthest he's ever swum is 14 miles. Tonight he'll attempt 22, in hopes of becoming only the 141st person ever to swim the Catalina Channel – fewer than have been in space!
Farrier walks to the stern in trunks, goggles and white swim cap. With a splash, he jumps – into the dark water, the dark night and the deep, dark unknown.

BUMP IN THE NIGHT
The English Channel gets all the glory. It's colder; the currents are stronger. But swimming Catalina Channel is further. And rarer.
Even with water temperatures at 68 degrees like tonight, it can cause hypothermia after 10 hours in the water.
"We had this guy, by daybreak he wanted to give up," says boat Capt. Greg Elliott, who's accompanied some 80 channel crossings. "They pushed and pushed him. Finally, about 10 in morning, he started to sink. We had to jump in and pull him out."
It took 41 minutes for paramedics to get a heartbeat. Elliott says the man set a record for surviving after being clinically dead.

That's hypothermia. Then there are things that go bump in the night.
"I never had a fear of sharks," says Farrier, of San Clemente.
But a fishing trip to Catalina last year ended ominously. He'd just decided on a channel swim and was scouting his trip. Halfway home, their boat broke down under overcast skies.
"We all saw something that blew our minds," he says. "It was about a 15-foot great white, jumping out of the water."

Not once. Not twice. But three times.
"It was lunging out of the water," he says. "Like, 'I'll be here when you get here next year, bud!'"
Farrier let it go. Ha-ha. Shark hype. Untila swimmer off Solano Beach got pulled violently under water in April. His friends heard screaming and crunching.
They got him to shore. But he bled to death.
EARLY WARNING SIGNS

Farrier's first test lies a half-hour away: feeding time.
If he can keep his energy drinks down, he'll stay nourished over the next 12 hours. If not, he'll dehydrate and run out of gas.
To start this marathon, however, he must actually swim backwards about 100 yards.
As he thwap-thwaps ashore, a pace swimmer and two kayaks slip into the water. They will guide him, feed him and encourage him.

"Hey, it's your day, man," shouts pace swimmer and mentor Marc Lewis, who has swum the Catalina and English channels.
Family and friends cheer. Greg's mom Barbara Farrier-Fox stands to the side: "I won't sleep till he's out of the water," she says.

Farrier climbs ashore, illuminated by the boat's floodlight. Only then does Carol Sing, a monitor for the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation (and 84th person to swim the channel) give the OK and start her stopwatch.
"If I wanted to get eaten by a shark," notes the captain, who used to lead shark dives in these waters, "I'd strip down to a bathing suit, jump in water at midnight, put spotlight on me and splash in the middle of the ocean."
But at this moment that's the least of Farrier's worries. He is watching for three early warning signs that could end his dream before dawn: shoulder pain, sea swells and vomiting.
A sea lion frolics as Farrier sets out for Point Vicente, some 22 miles and 35,000 strokes due east.
A half hour out, his shoulder feels fine but little else does. In the darkness, he can't see the pace swimmer beside him. In the swells, he can't breathe without gulping a mouthful of saltwater. And now, 10 minutes after his first energy-drink? Up it comes.
Alone in the dark, he is left to wonder which Greg Farrier will emerge from the water: the one who quits or the one who fights?

He will need all the support The Bottom Scratcher can muster