The congressional report found that ’the US military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.’
A new congressional report suggests that the U.S. military lacks the required capabilities to preserve the nation’s strategic interests and could lose a potential war against China.
The report, published on July 30 by the Commission on the National Defense Strategy, found that “the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat.”
“The Commission finds that the U.S. defense industrial base (DIB) is unable to meet the equipment, technology, and munitions needs of the United States and its allies and partners,” the report reads.
Eric Edelman, who serves as vice chair for the commission, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that China’s communist regime was outpacing the United States in military development.
He said that fact could increase the likelihood of a conflict between the two powers and the likelihood of the United States losing.
“There is potential for a near-term war and a potential that we might lose such a conflict,” Mr. Edelman said.
Eric Edelman, who serves as vice chair for the commission, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that China’s communist regime was outpacing the United States in military development.
He said that fact could increase the likelihood of a conflict between the two powers and the likelihood of the United States losing.
“There is potential for a near-term war and a potential that we might lose such a conflict,” Mr. Edelman said.
“We found that China is in many ways outpacing the U.S.,” he said. “While we still have the strongest military in the world with the farthest global reach, when we get to 1,000 miles of China’s shore, we start to lose our military dominance and could find ourselves on the losing end of a conflict.”
To that end, Mr. Edelman underscored that the growing strategic partnerships between China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia were a “major strategic shift” that U.S. defense planners failed to fully account for.
