Tactical Issues in a Time of Strategic Crisis
By Dennis Peacocke

The current Democratic primary contest between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is most likely a preview of what the actual presidential elections will be about. In a time of strategic crisis, the debate has been a lot of interesting but conflicting conversation about tactical issues. We continue to be a nation where great amounts of time, energy, gathering of data, and conversation take place on the “third floor” of the house, so to speak, when in fact, there is a raging fire burning uncontested in the basement. Fire, fire, help!

To continue in this analogy, what are the flames in the basement being fueled by? By this I mean the foundational axioms, the most basic strategic questions upon which the future of Western society rests. These are the issues the politicians and pundits seldom get near. Here are the “big three” in my opinion.

Major issue number one: how does a prosperous nation stay prosperous and yet meet the entitlement needs of its citizens? That question must be broken down into two subset questions. First, why are we prosperous, and what principles are non-negotiable undergirding our prosperity? Second, what are the non-negotiable entitlements, who should get them, and how should they be paid for? Rhetoric and “third floor” tactical proposals may get votes for political candidates, but they won’t solve the largely undefined basic issues that threaten the very financial future of both the United States and much of the Western world.

Major issue number two: what is the exact nature of the problem the West faces from militant Islam, and how can we counter these problems spiritually, financially, militarily and through communication? Why do they hate us? Where is our responsibility? What is our strategy? What will it cost? Most importantly, does this problem transcend party politics? If it does, do we have a multi-year task force and a strategic plan to be consistently applied regardless of what political party controls the Executive and Legislative bodies?

Major issue number three: What are our most cherished historical values; have we walked away from them, and if so, why? Do they constitute the necessity of any cultural compliance which would make them enforceable in terms of national citizenship?

Within these three major issues lies all the convoluted rhetoric of the current election. These base line questions, and their answers, encompass the fundamental issues underpinning taxation, economic stimulation, the coming entitlement tsunami, military needs (beyond Iraq and Afghanistan), and the debate surrounding border security and immigration.

Far beyond the current electoral issues lie the truly seminal questions regarding how our citizens currently see our national genesis, future destiny, and national identity. Do I expect the real debate to take place sometime soon? Only if enough of us can make it happen, and that is...