The report said “great powers” such as Russia and China pose the “greatest threat” to the US, with China “outnumbering” the US and leaving the US military “unprepared” for a major war.
A report released in July by the National Defense Strategy Commission said: reveal The United States currently faces the “most serious and most challenging” threats since 1945, but several problems are preventing the U.S. military from dealing with threats from China and Russia.
The report attributes the U.S. military’s inability to address threats from China and Russia to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) “business practices, complex research” and “dependence on decades-old military equipment” that reflect “an era of overwhelming military dominance.” The report adds that “these approaches” are “not suited to today’s strategic environment.”
The report also noted that the U.S. military has faced a “recent recruitment shortfall” and has reduced “the size of the Army, Air Force, and Navy.”
In a new report, the National Defense Strategy Commission warns of growing security threats, emphasizes innovation and recommends strengthening the Department of Defense as part of an “all elements of national power” approach to security. https://t.co/5daqljphsp
— RAND (@RANDCorporation) July 29, 2024
“The threats facing the United States are the most serious and most challenging threats the United States has faced since 1945, including the possibility of a major war in the near future,” the report said. “The last time the United States engaged in a global conflict was during World War II, which ended nearly 80 years ago. The last time the United States was prepared for such a conflict was during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago. Today, the United States is not prepared.”
China and Russia are described as powers that are “seeking to weaken” US influence, with China “surpassing the US.”
The Commission concludes that China has surpassed the United States in many respects and has significantly negated U.S. military advantages in the Western Pacific through two decades of intensive military investment. Unless the United States makes significant changes, the balance of power will continue to tilt in China’s favor. China’s total defense spending is estimated at $711 billion per year, and the Chinese government announced a 7.2% increase in annual defense spending in March 2024.
The report adds that China and Russia established an “unrestricted” partnership in February 2022, which has “deepened and expanded to include military and economic partnerships with Iran and North Korea.”
“This new coalition of nations opposed to U.S. interests creates a real, if not possible, risk that conflict, wherever it occurs, could escalate into multilateral or even global war,” the report explained, adding that the U.S. “needs a similarly integrated approach to counter, deter, and overcome their strategies.”
“The U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) is unable to meet the equipment, technology, and weapons needs of the United States and its allies and partners,” the report said.
The U.S. industrial base cannot produce “everything we need,” so the U.S. should “work in partnership and cooperation with our allies” to increase its industrial capabilities, the committee added.
The report goes on to say that Congress, the Department of Defense “and other agencies” need to work together “to rewrite laws and regulations” and “remove unnecessary barriers to the adoption of innovation, budgets, and procurement.”
“New authorities may be needed to promote integration, strengthen the Department of Defense workforce, and complement other agencies’ national security authorities,” the report said. “Integration with allies will require the elimination of barriers to information sharing, co-production, and exports.”
In recent years, China’s economic, diplomatic and military expansion has posed a “significant long-term challenge” to the United States, with many fearing that China could overtake the United States as a superpower.
Recently, Russian and Chinese bombers were reportedly conducting a joint flight off the coast of Alaska. While the bombers were reportedly not considered a threat, it was the first time that Chinese bombers had flown near Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone and the first time that aircraft from both countries had taken off from the same base in Russia.
