Barack Obama's incoming national security team could have been George H.W. Bush's national security team. And that's high praise.
But for all the gossipy fun of discussing various strong personalities and "teams of rivals," and for all the desire to get back to domestic economic concerns, the cold stalking reality is that Joe Biden was right: The new President, and his team, will be tested, soon enough, by an overseas foe.
A new report from The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, a bipartisan body mandated by Congress and chaired by former Senator Bob Graham, Democrat of Florida, finds that "America's margin of safety is shrinking, not growing."
Presciently, the Commission's final report, written before the deadly Mumbai attacks, singles out Pakistan as a source of danger "Were one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan… Pakistan is an ally, but there is a grave danger it could also be an unwitting source of a terrorist attack on the US -possibly with weapons of mass destruction." I am not so sure about the "ally" part, but let's hope for the best.
And in the meantime, let's actively prepare for the worst. Some rich banker might have to wait a little longer for his bailout, but the safety of Americans should take fiscal priority.
Posted at The Politico's "Arena."
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