Arizona Sen. John McCain's National Security Platform

Having experienced firsthand the brutality of war, as president, McCain would never make the decision to use force lightly, and pledges to only undertake it when the cause is just, and the nation's values and interests absolutely demand it.

As military technology becomes more advanced and guerilla warfare becomes more innovative, John McCain believes a strong military is necessary for a strong national defense -- the cornerstone of most conservative ideologies.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, threats from rogue states like Iran and North Korea, and the rise of potential strategic competitors like China and Russia mean that America requires a larger and more capable military to protect America's vital interests and deter challenges to its security.

McCain also believes alliances with other nations are key to a strong national defense, and therefore remains committed to assisting US allies across the world in their fight against hostile threats. This also means that dealing with threatening nations requires strong resolve and skillful diplomacy.

An important component to averting another 9/11 is making sure American's intelligence community has the resources it needs to uncover plots at home and deploy covert operations abroad. McCain has been a vocal supporter of an independent 9/11 Commission to identify how to best address the terrorist threat and decrease our domestic vulnerability. He was an early advocate of the Department of Homeland Security and the creation of the U.S. Northern Command with the specific responsibility of protecting the U.S. homeland.

As commander-in-chief, McCain will ensure that the war against terrorism is fought without restricting the rights and freedoms of American citizens, thus giving terrorists the satisfaction they seek.

McCain believes an effective missile defense is critical to protecting America from rogue regimes like North Korea that possess the capability to target America with intercontinental ballistic missiles, from outlaw states like Iran that threaten American forces and American allies with ballistic missiles, and to hedge against potential threats from possible strategic competitors like Russia and China.

An effective missle defense also reduces the possibility of strategic blackmail by rogue regimes and secures the homeland against potential missle attacks from adversaries.

Since the most important weapons in the US arsenal are the men and women of the American armed forces, McCain believes the size and scope of the military must be enlarged to keep exhausted troops from serving two, three and even four tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Protecting these men and women from physical and psychological harm should be a top priority, along with ensure they have the proper compensation, training, and equipping of our troops.

McCain has vowed to continue his efforts to reform the defense budget to remove parochial interests that have historically guided the process. This includes reforming the defense acquisition proceess and giving Congressional committees less power to closely scrutinize defense budget requests and add pork-barrel projects that divert genuine defense resources to home-district interests and bloat the defense-spending budget. Congressional "oversight" typically only serves to undermine the national defense budget by diverting money from it.

By reforming the defense budget, McCain believes more money will be available to benefit existing members and veterans of the armed forces.