Leadership is absolutely vital if there are comparable countries which can affect the security of the world you live in. Between Lincoln and Roosevelt's time, America was protected by huge oceans and, in practice, by the British navy. Today, it's different, and the obsession of the Obama administration has been for retrenchment.

We should realize that a state is bound to be responsible for its own security and that, therefore, the state should have a clear sense of the factors that it has to take into account. The military might should be an absolute priority and a prerogative of the state. In times of peace, we should ensu... re that our country does not depend on military might alone. It is a fact that the state needs to be strong. It should also be able to take care of its citizens, especially those in the poorest parts of the country.