the.com/national security
the reason your bag gets swabbed and the budget never gets cut.
means the collection of military, economic, and intelligence efforts a state uses to protect itself from threats, real or convenient.
from the phrase hardened into policy language after world war two, when the us national security act of 1947 fused the military, spies, and diplomacy into one permanent apparatus.
blank check clauseinvoked to justify tariffs, surveillance, even steel imports.
budget sizeus intelligence community spends over 90 billion yearly.
secrecy creepmillions of documents classified annually, few ever declassified.
for instance
national security act 1947 — created the cia, nsa, and joint chiefs in one stroke.
patriot act 2001 — passed 45 days after 9/11, expanded surveillance nationwide.
cuban missile crisis 1962 — 13 days where the phrase meant nuclear brinkmanship.
snowden leaks 2013 — revealed nsa mass surveillance justified under this exact banner.