John Kerry has started a series of speeches that outline his national security strategy. He argues that the Bush administration has moved away from Theodore Roosevelt's "speak softly and carry a big stick." Roosevelt said, "If a man continually blusters, if he lacks civility, a big stick will not save him from trouble." It is a good start but I believe it is only half a policy. It is too defense oriented. We need to proactively root out the hate that causes terrorism, not just treat the symptoms with a strong military and powerful friends.

Kerry says he will follow Roosevelt's time honored advice and has outlined a four part national security policy.

It’s time for a new national security policy guided by four new imperatives: First, we must launch and lead a new era of alliances for the post 9-11 world. Second, we must modernize the world’s most powerful military to meet the new threats. Third, in addition to our military might, we must deploy all that is in America’s arsenal -- our diplomacy, our intelligence system, our economic power, and the appeal of our values and ideas. Fourth and finally, to secure our full independence and freedom, we must free America from its dangerous dependence on Mideast oil.

The first point is very welcome indeed. It will be a difficult task after what Bush has done to America's credibility. The second imperative is also a great idea. We have a military designed to fight large cold-war style battles. We have new enemies and this requires new military capabilities.

I will modernize our military to match its new missions. We must get the most out of new technologies. We must reform training and update the way we structure our armed forces -- for example, with special forces designed to strike terrorists in their sanctuaries, and with national guard and reserve units retooled to meet the requirements of homeland defense.

The third point is also important. It appears Kerry will actually hold the intelligence community accountable for its failures. Finally, a new energy policy is badly needed not just for national security, but also to protect the environment. Kerry plans to offer tax credits to consumers who use alternative energy sources.

These are all good ideas, but Kerry doesn't even mention the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our uneven treatment in favor of Israel is the root of hatred for the United States in the middle east. This hatred is the fuel for groups like Al Qaeda. Terrorism will never end if we cannot solve the conflicts that generate it. We may stop more terrorists with a properly equiped military and international cooperation, but there will always be a few that make it through our defenses. No defense is perfect. If we truly want to cure the world of terrorism, we have to treat the cause not just the symptoms. We need a security policy that focuses on ways to achieve peace, not just better ways to wage war.