The United States is unprepared for potential warfare with major adversaries due to a lack of necessary capabilities and capacity, according to a recent congressional report. A panel assigned by Congress to evaluate US defense strategy discovered significant shortcomings within the Department of Defense’s ambitions to deter or win in a large-scale conflict. Russia and China were identified as the primary threats to American national security.
The 114-page document, released on Monday, states that the National Defense Strategy (NDS), written before the onset of the Ukraine crisis in 2022, is outdated. The US military is not properly structured and the nation’s industrial base is deemed “grossly inadequate” to confront potential threats. US experts argue that the nation was last prepared for a significant conflict during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago.
Jane Harman, a former Democratic congresswoman and chair of the commission on the NDS, informed the Senate Armed Service Committee hearing on Tuesday that the panel unanimously believes the threats to US national security and interests are greater than at any time since World War II and more complex than during the Cold War.
The “threats” to the United States, including “the potential for near-term major war,” are exacerbated by the increasing political and military alignment between China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, as per the report.
In a declaration adopted last month at a NATO summit in Washington, the US-led alliance branded China “a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine” – an accusation that Beijing dismissed as “full of lies and bias.” Both Moscow and Beijing have denied Western allegations that China has been supplying Russia with dual-use goods that can be utilized to produce weapons.
The document states, “The United States should assume that if it enters a direct conflict involving Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea, that country will benefit from economic and military aid from the others.” The report also suggests that this partnership increases the likelihood of a conflict with one expanding to multiple fronts, causing simultaneous demands on US and allied resources.
Experts recommend that the United States should enhance its presence in Europe to a full armored corps, a much larger commitment than exists today, accompanied by enablers such as air defense and aviation. The report comes amid recent Western warnings regarding Russia’s alleged plans to attack Western Europe if it secures a victory over Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed such claims as “nonsense.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has similarly described the allegations as “horror stories,” and suggested they had been made up by Western leaders to distract people’s attention from problems in their own countries.