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Charity Azadian

In response to Infrastructure US's article on America's nuclear responsibility, former senior advisor on Nuclear Nonproliferation matters at the U.S. Department of Energy, Charity Azadian writes a counter-balance to possible American disarmament.

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. ”
-Sir Winston Churchill

Somewhere in the frenzy of putting out a public statement regarding the location of nuclear sites, the government missed a step. A step off a slippery slope, which led down a cliff, into a mud bath of disaster! And in this case, it's not just the crocodile rolling around in the mud, it's the crocodile's appeaser-the press, government officials, and the Obama Administration. Guess who will be eaten up first?

Now, let's rewind. First, were the release of classified materials from torture memos, and now the release of sensitive and official use only material regarding U.S. nuclear sites? What's next, the published release to the mathematical equation for highly enriched uranium, oh wait, maybe we already did that. All this is to say, that this Administration is making it far too simplistic for our enemies to target our vulnerabilities. Are we trying to ensnare our prey in the web of media frenzied information or are we joining them in the fight.

National security threat

So, just how did the Associated Press release this information, vis-à-vis a simple push of the send button, so that it could be received by any person in the world who has access to the Internet? What really happened here? According to the federal government, the web site posting was done in error, and somewhere between the Hill and the Government Printing Office, it was not approved. Sources stated that there is no national security impact, but it is embarrassing for the U.S. Government. Nonetheless, making it hard for the U.S. Government to make the case to other countries to tighten up their practices.

Whether the details of the report pose a national security threat depends on whom you speak with, but for the moment it is imperative to focus on the principle at hand. The principle that government, policymakers, and the media must hold dear and value such sensitive information and not view it as a way to gain friendship to the rest of the world. We are an open and free society but to take this literally by giving away our national secrets is nothing to be admired.

The saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, might just be the methodology of this Administration. But, Sleeping with the Enemy has never worked out; just ask Patrick Bergen, he knows first hand. Books written from centuries past and present know the reality of appeasement: Samson succumbed to Delilah and lost his dignity and life, and Snow White tasted the forbidden fruit and fell into a deep sleep. Far too many times this kind of policy has gone astray, and waiting for a Prince to come and save us with a kiss just isn't realistic.

So what makes this time different? Why should we give out national secrets? Are we more enlightened, are the terrorists smarter, are our enemies disappearing? None of the above!

History directs us to be more cautious in how we approach those who want to hurt our country and us. Some learn from the mistakes of the past, and some just like to talk about the past.

Almost a year ago today, an op-ed piece was published in the New York Times entitled, "Kennedy Talked, Khrushchev Triumphed", which truly foreshadowed the naiveté of President Obama. The writers discussed the ineptitude and inability of then Senator Obama to fully grasp the key to successful negotiation, because Senator Obama had proudly touted on the campaign trail that he would apply President Kennedy's style of negotiation.

But, to those who really are students of history, there was much more to be understood. The New York Times article states "Kennedy's one presidential meeting with Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier, suggests that there are legitimate reasons to fear negotiating with one's adversaries. Although Kennedy was keenly aware of some of the risks of such meetings - his Harvard thesis was titled "Appeasement at Munich" - he embarked on a summit meeting with Khrushchev in Vienna in June 1961, a move that would be recorded as one of the more self-destructive American actions of the cold war, and one that contributed to the most dangerous crisis of the nuclear age."

True to his campaign trail words, President Obama stated this week in a speech to the Islamic nations that he is a "student of history," but in fact, he is more a quoter of history. Evidencing the fact that he really cannot or will not process history as a lesson to not just be told. But, more importantly, that history can and should be used as an important tool to craft intelligent and purposeful domestic and foreign policies. If President Obama and his Administration want to follow in President Kennedy's footsteps, he should heed the lesson that Kennedy learned in his first year in office: sometimes there is good reason to fear to negotiate.

Never, ever, appease the crocodile!

Charity Azadian is a professor, diplomat and author. She served as the first Special Assistant on International Affairs for the Science and Technology Directorate at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and soon thereafter served as a Senior Advisor on Nuclear Nonproliferation matters at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the administrations of President George W. Bush. In that role Azadian served as a confidant to senior administration officials and scientists on a variety of homeland and national security issues. After serving in the Bush administration, she went on to write the 2006 California State Strategy on Homeland Security which secured grant funding for the state, while working on port security matters in the Governor's Office of Homeland Security in California. She is currently an adjunct professor at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. Azadian enjoys writing daily posts on her blog as well as crafting a book on her adventures in homeland security following the events of 9-11.