The Biggest National Security Threats To The US In 2017

THIS year has already been blighted with terror attacks, rising tensions around the globe and the ongoing threat of nuclear war.

The Sun has spoken to a range of military and terror experts about the threat of World War Three in 2017.

At the end of last century, political scientist Francis Fukuyama, surveying the latter events of the 20th century—the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and the United States emerging as the world’s sole superpower— surmised that we were watching “the end of history.” To Fukuyama, it seemed that after the greatest wars were fought and the dust had settled, the world had settled into an equilibrium of Western liberal democracy and its global expansion. Wars would be fought on diminishing scales, and the United States would reign supreme over an international order that gradually accepted democratic-egalitarian ideals.

Fukuyama seemed like he was right—until the events of 2016. Contrary to the trend of globalization, the world is contracting—countries are seceding from unions, withdrawing from pacts, and building walls. As Western democracies retreat back into the stubborn fold of nationalism, it seems the world may be headed for another momentous breakup. Any disruption in the world order would involve its top dog, the United States, and as the king of the hill, America is facing threats from every aspirational power: Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, to name a few.

Worldwide political movements may have stalled after World War II, but technological movements have transformed the fabric of our society. In the past decade, we’ve become utterly dependent on technology, for everything from directions, recipes, banking, news, and social validation. Our society is built on fragile, digital columns, which gives our adversaries a multitude of new ways to attack us: through bioweaponry, cyberhacking, nuclear terrorism, and digital espionage. Add in emboldened rogue states like ISIS and North Korea, and the resulting combination could be disastrous. Here are 3 of the United States’ biggest national security threats in 2017.

Cyberhacking

Cyberwarfare is the greatest threat facing the United States – outstripping even terrorism – according to defense, military, and national security leaders in a Defense News poll, a sign that hawkish warnings about an imminent “cyber Pearl Harbor” have been absorbed in defense circles.

 “A cyberattack would be far more devastating than a nuclear bomb,” antivirus guru and cyber security legend John McAfee warned last year when he ran for the Libertarian Party nomination for President of the United States. He elaborated: “In a cyber war, the first thing we’re going to lose is our power. And without power, what happens? We have no power, we have no food. We have no way of getting food either, as everything is automated.”

The scary thing is, our enemies may already have this crippling capability in their hands. McAfee referenced the fact that if “two fifteen-year-old boys [could] hack into the Ukranian power grid [last year], could the Russians and Chinese not do the same thing with us?” An army of computer wunderkinds, expert freelancers, and devious hackers stand ready for recruitment by any terrorist group or nation-state. If the areas hit by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 devolved into looting and chaos by their third day without power, imagine an entire region or the country plunging into darkness for weeks. Without a shot being fired, it would bring America to its knees.

 

ISIS

 ISIS is not just a geopolitical threat, it is an existential threat to the West, what French philosopher Jean Baudrillard regarded as the response to West-dominated globalization. The problem is that “bombing the sh** out of ISIS” (as President Trump promised) is like upending an art colony—the colony may be destroyed, but the ants will scatter, swarm and eventually regroup. Stamping out ISIS’ territorial holdings threatens to dissipate the organization over the entire world.

ISIS has proven itself innovative in a number of ways—using unusually high production standards in their propaganda and employing unorthodox recruiting methods. One fears they’ll apply their rugged ingenuity to a large-scale terrorist attack: whether through cyber attack (shutting down our power), bio-weaponry (poisoning our water supply), or detonating a nuclear warhead, which Obama repeatedly warned of during his second term.

ISIS has conquered territory across the Middle East and northern Africa. It has terrorized its occupied cities, sown terror across Europe, and spread its ideology around the world. But what does ISIS want? What does it believe? Where did it come from? And can it be stopped? Tom Joscelyn, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains. 

 

North Korea

Countries with failing economies and bad histories with the United States often use military power to compensate for their domestic situation (i.e. Russia), and North Korea—with its abhorrent human rights record, an unstable leader, and a failed economy—is ripe to try and make a grand statement on the world stage.

Much was made of Barack Obama’s stern meeting with Donald Trump the day after the inauguration, and pundits speculated that what might have shocked the future President the most was Obama’s warning that North Korea, by the end of the year, will have a mountable nuclear warhead.North Korea has been showing off its latest range of ballistic missiles and this map shows how far each one can go. As you can see, it looks like most of the United States is in range and it's got people panicking. 

 

“One of the reasons is that we’ve become used to there just being one genuinely unpredictable world leader and that was Kim Jong-un. Then there’s North Korea pushing ahead with its ballistic missile tests in its bid to become a nuclear power.

“Now we have a second, Donald J Trump – and we are waiting to see how he will preside.

And that will be bad news for all of us.

People are born with the innate desire to survive, but sadly, many in our increasingly dependent society look to others for relief and assistance following a disaster. The fact is that help from government, family, or neighbors is often unavailable when needed most, and in the end you may have only yourself to count on. Do you know what to do and how to do it if disaster strikes? 

If you have ever wanted to produce your own cheaper than dirt survival food…this is going to be the most important message you will ever read.

Here is why:

There now exist a new video course that reveals how to safely prepare and store foods in the event of a dangerous worldwide crisis. It’s designed for anyone who is frustrated with surging grocery prices and the very real possibility of empty shelves during the first year of the new administration.

The success of the new videos has already encouraged hundreds of people who never thought they could preserve their own food to take action and finally start storing their emergency supply.