Defense & National Security

Keeping America safe is our most important duty.  Democrats are focused on strengthening our national security, and under President Obama’s leadership we are working to restore America’s standing in the world.

Democrats have stepped up the fight against terrorists by successfully killing and capturing hundreds of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders.  We are devoting new and more resources to stop terrorist plots in the U.S.  and we have passed measures that give the U.S. intelligence community, the Defense Department, and the Homeland Security Department the tools they need to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat terrorist groups.  We have increased funding for counterintelligence activities and human intelligence collection; enhanced cybersecurity efforts; and bolstered aviation, port, and border security.

The Obama Administration responsibly wound down the war in Iraq, and carefully reviewed the situation in Afghanistan before implementing a counterinsurgency strategy with accountability benchmarks, and a timeframe for the commencement of withdrawals. Democrats are also strengthening our military with new and better weapons so our troops can complete their missions successfully and come home safely.  State-of-the-art equipment has been sent into the field to support our troops, including aerial drones, body armor, and mine-resistant vehicles, and we have increased the time between deployments.