National security

From ArticleWorld

National Security may thus be a plan of action that a country follows to provide security for the nation and its inhabitants. This plan may incorporate the use of power, both economic and military, during peace as well as war. This requires the use of certain actions to ensure the security of a state and may include measures such as sustaining sufficient armed forces to act as a cushion against any contingency of war, maintaining adequate funds to assist cooperation, and also for building a framework of intelligence and espionage infrastructure and classified information.

Security vs. individual rights

As a consequence of the attacks on World Trade Center in September 2001, and the resultant escalation of violence throughout the world, governments have had to exercise stringent national security measures. While these measures have been taken to counter terrorism, as a precaution against it, they might be held to impinge the civil rights of certain liberal societies. There might then be said to exist a tradeoff between freedom of individuals and rule of law.

There, of course, exists a very fine line between what passes for use of law and its abuse and to what extent a society is willing to go in defense of its national security. It is true that war cannot be conducted without violating human rights and although national security measures are enforced to protect the nation as a whole, they infringe individual privileges. A liberal, modern society through the implementation and enforcement of national security policies might end up as a police state.

Security vs. basic services

Also true is the fact that to build a comprehensive national security policy requires moneys to be invested and funds to be raised. These funds would need to be diverted away from such basic public services as health care, education and emergency and contingency requirements.