Super Bowl and homeland securityPSA issues Secure America Challenge to candidates
Top Democrats and Republicans issue bipartisan agenda for next president; Senator Warren Rudman: “Republicans and Democrats can agree that securing global nuclear stockpiles to prevent terrorists from buying or stealing materials for a nuclear weapon is at the top of the agenda”
If you watched the Super Bowl, you probably noticed a thirty-Second TV spot on nuclear terrorism. The ad was sponsored by the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA), a group of leading Democrat and Republican national security experts. The TV ad is part of a broader campaign, called the “Secure America Challenge,” aimed at the 2008 presidential candidates. “The next president will have to address these five issues immediately upon taking office,” said former Representative Lee Hamilton (D-Indiana), PSA co-chair, “but meaningful progress will require cooperation between Democrats and Republicans, no matter which party controls the White House.” PSA Advisory Board member and former Reagan national security adviser Robert “Bud” McFarlane said, “we think these five priorities haven’t gotten the attention they deserve. We’re trying to stimulate a more thoughtful debate from all of the candidates, and frame for the American people that these are things you should be concerned about.” Addressing nuclear terrorism, the group’s top issue, former Senator and PSA co-chair Warren Rudman (R-New Hampshire) said, “Republicans and Democrats can agree that securing global nuclear stockpiles to prevent terrorists from buying or stealing materials for a nuclear weapon is at the top of the agenda.”
The statement also calls for new steps to achieve energy security and stem climate change, which McFarlane called “an issue of national security, of huge financial cost, and a potential source of conflict, so there are good reasons why this ought to be very high on our agenda.” Hamilton added, “America has a crucial global image problem, which we can only address through strong, bipartisan steps to re-establish U.S. leadership on development and human rights. Leaders on both sides of the aisle now recognize that America’s prosperity and security are linked to the prosperity and security of other nations and their people.” Rudman added, “American history shows that when we put partisan differences aside, we can overcome our greatest national challenges.”
“The American people are looking for something different this time around,” said PSA executive director Matt Rojansky. “And yet while the candidates promise change, promise to reach across the aisle and bring people together, a lot of that doesn’t have content. We’re trying to offer a substantive agenda for the bipartisan way forward, whichever party wins in November.”
The full text of the Secure America Challenge is available at the organization’s Web site.
