National security 

May: National security policies of the next commander-in-chief

“National security” is a highfalutin phrase for a problem that can be stated quite simply: We have enemies. What do we do about them? Since this is a matter of life and death, it’s worth asking: What national security policies can we expect the next commander-in-chief to implement?

Let’s acknowledge that we can only make educated guesses. Presidential candidates have been known to say what they think voters want to hear and then, after winning election, go off in an entirely different direction.

Beyond that, circumstances change. President George W. Bush did not come into office expecting to spend most of his energy fighting terrorists and their sponsors. President Barack Obama’s experience recalls a quip often attributed to the communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky: “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”