There is a necessary change coming up in the way that the US does business as far as foreign policy is concerned. The reason is that the war on terror is winding down and the worlds situation is changing drastically. Some nations will be more of a threat to the United States in the future and others will not. The threat wont always be in terms of military actions which may be actively conducted but as in the case of Mexico, the impending threat could be threats to our way of life through activities such as the drug trade and human trafficking. Our national policies will begin to shift to reflect the threat areas which are coming to the forefront.

The first nation which we will mention here is our ally which is on our southern border. The real threat does not come out of any dispute or conflict with or from the Mexican government but it comes from criminal activity which tends to spill across the border with the United States. The biggest problem as we all know is the drug trade which spills into our country. The US is probably the biggest customer for the drugs which are produced in Mexico, and Central and South America. Since Mexico is our closest neighbor in the South most of the illicit drugs which flow into this country have to pass through it. The drug trade is a lucrative business and since many Mexican people live in abject poverty it serves as a way to provide income for their families. Its drug cartels are fighting to control the corridors which lead into the United States and many times the fighting will spill over into this country. The money is so good that cartels can afford to pay government officials to turn their heads to the illegal activity.

Human trafficking is also a serious problem. Many impoverished Mexican citizens will sneak across the border to the US to find employment and thus secure a better way of life. Coyotes or the men who help to smuggle them across the border make good money for their services. As long as there seems to be better opportunities in the United States this activity will continue. Women are often tricked into becoming sex slaves and forced to work in brothels in the US and other places. Sometimes they are forced to work in traveling brothels either in the US or other countries.

I for see more of our troops being used in the future to help secure our southern border from criminal activity. The agents which we have in place at this time simply have their hands full. The border is just too long to adequately cover all of the time. I personally believe that it would be a good idea, and desperately needed. The cost of criminal activity which spills over our borders is staggering. The cost of using our troops to secure the border would be more than justified by the savings that we will realize.

The next country on my list is Iran. Iran is like a rabid dog on the loose in the sense that they are attempting to procure nuclear weapons. Once they get them they will definitely use them on US and Israeli targets in the Middle East. They dont attempt to hide the fact that they want to attack the US and Israel. Their president believes that it is his God given mission to start the next world war which will issue in Islam as the world religion. We need to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons. I personally dont think that we can do so forever. The Israelis are facing the greater threat so I believe that they will carry out a preemptive strike if necessary. If they do I believe that the US will quickly be drawn into the conflict.

The Pakistanis are my next choice of a threat to our sovereignty. They may not be a direct threat but they will attempt to influence the situation in Afghanistan. They can cause a negative impact which could serve to prolong or escalate the violence which occurs there. This is a danger because there is always the prospect that US troops would have to be used to help the Afghans remain in control of their country.

This is a subjective list based on my own beliefs. I wont argue the order of the list or even if you believe that there are other names which can be added to this list. The list could change drastically in the next week or two. We have to change our diplomatic outlook as a nation to focus on the task at hand. Military Ring Express