A Scary Document

Last year Congress created the Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States. Its goal was to provide an independent, nonpartisan review of the 2018 National Defense Strategy and issues of U.S. defense strategy and policy more broadly. The commission, made up of Republicans, Democrats and Independents did tons of research. Its conclusions are not encouraging. Here are a few of them. There are many more.

The security and wellbeing of the United States are at greater risk than at any time in decades. America’s military superiority—the hard-power backbone of its global influence and national security—has eroded to a dangerous degree. Rivals and adversaries are challenging the United States on many fronts and in many domains. America’s ability to defend its allies, its partners, and its own vital interests is increasingly in doubt. If the nation does not act promptly to remedy these circumstances, the consequences will be grave and lasting.

The United States has lost its military edge to a dangerous degree and could potentially lose a war against China or Russia, according to a report released Wednesday by a bipartisan commission that Congress created to evaluate the Trump administration’s defense strategy.
Today, however, our margin of superiority is profoundly diminished in key areas.

There are urgent challenges that must be addressed if the United States is to avoid lasting damage to its national security.