The policies, procedures, and deliberate acts that ensure national security include everything carried out by elected officials, boots-on-the-ground soldiers, intelligence operatives, police, and the business community, among others. It’s a concept that refers to a collective undertaking guided by a country’s leadership to keep everyday people safe.
Since President Donald Trump took the oath of office, national security has improved tremendously. His bold direction and decisive actions have put our enemies on notice. By the same token, the president continues to find creative solutions to problems that might otherwise undermine the sovereignty of our country. These rank among the biggest national security wins of 2019.
1: Eliminating ISIS Top Leaders
The takedown of ISIS caliphate founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi garnered plenty of splashy headlines, and for good reason. His reign of terror and seizure of mass tracts of land created a vast caliphate. Under his direction, Muslim extremists subjected locals to torture, execution, enslavement, enlisted child soldiers, suicide bombers, and was himself a serial rapist. Although former President Barack Obama called his organization’s rise to power a “JV team,” the monster’s plague on decent people remains unrivaled in the modern era. Despite a $25 million bounty, the Obama-Biden administration made America appear powerless to stop him.
In October 2019, President Trump green-lighted a military operation that proved to be even more consequential than the termination of Osama bin Laden in terms of loss of life. Not only did the president’s leadership remove one of the most significant threats on the planet, but he also sent a pivotal message that no terrorist is safe, anywhere.
“The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him,” President Trump said from the White House. “Baghdadi’s demise demonstrates America’s relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders and our commitment to the enduring and total defeat of ISIS and other terrorist organizations.”
Baghdadi’s successor was also promptly eliminated along with the group’s top spokesman. In terms of national security wins, this left the world’s most infamous terror organization rudderless. The country, and world, are safer today.
2: Securing the U.S. Southern Border
Congress has repeatedly failed to pass an immigration law that closes loopholes used by duplicitous migrants to remain in the U.S. illegally. An even larger problem has been Democrat extremists luring illegals with the promise of free money, housing, and benefits paid for by hard-working taxpayers.
An estimated 12 million illegals have infiltrated the country, stealing working-class jobs, causing wage stagnation, and perpetrating violent crimes. Much of that ended in 2019 with bold initiatives that included the “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy rolled out by the Trump Administration.
Under the policy, those claiming to be refugees wait in Mexico for their application to be verified and processed. In the past, this mechanism was falsely used to get across the border, slip away, and fell under the “catch and release” quagmire. Since the new policy took effect, border crossing attempts have plummeted, and mass caravans have all but ceased. The Trump Administration has coupled such creative solutions with the building of nearly 100 miles of new border wall in 2019 and continue to reportedly average one mile per day.
3: Economic Security Equals National Security
There were numerous reasons that the Obama-Biden administration feared confronting China over intellectual property theft and currency manipulation, among other illegal practices. Cowardice ranked among the primary ones. That’s because they failed to put forward policies that supported a strong economy and the national defense.
One of the under-reported stories remains the importance of mining what is known as “rare earth elements.” There are reportedly 17 that a critical to maintaining society, and several are vital to operating tech-based military systems in Blackhawk helicopters, and fighter jets, among others. Obama and Biden made the U.S. incredibly vulnerable by enacting “climate change” policies that disrupted American mines. Their solution was to buy the elements from rival China. This, despite the fact that China had previously cut off Japan during a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands. The Obama-Biden solution was a lot like relying on your enemy to sell you bullets during a war.
Fortunately for the U.S., the Trump Administration reversed the extremist climate policies that inhibited rare Earth element mining. According to reports, Texas Mineral Resources Corp and USA Rare Earth moved forward last year to invest upwards of $12 million to build a facility and refine more than 220 pounds of these invaluable materials each year. That may not sound like a lot of refining, but it will keep Blackhawks and fighter jets in the air with zero reliance on the communists in China.