Haley Stevens: “this morning as I read the Wall Street Journal, I came across Mark Helprin's article called ``The Fire Next Time.'' The…”

“this morning as I read the Wall Street Journal, I came across Mark Helprin's article called ``The Fire Next Time.'' The thesis of Mr. Helprin is this: The consensus that doing much to protect America is preferable to doing too little has been destroyed. If the President does not rebuild it, we will suffer the consequences. I commend this article to the Senate. I do not think it is totally the President's responsibility. It certainly falls on many of us to help the President and the Secretary of Defense and those in the National Security Agency and the Vice President, all of them working on what should be our defense policy, to find ways to rehabilitate our national defense. Very clearly, we do not have the defense we need for the future. At one point in this article, Mr. Helprin says this: God save the American soldier from those who believe that his life can be protected and his mission accomplished on the cheap. For what they perceive as an extravagance is always less costly in lives and treasure than the long drawn-out wars it deters altogether or shortens with quick victories. I do hope all of us will think about how we can restore our national prestige in terms of being the superpower of the world and having the power to defend that position.”