Retired Gen. James Mattis said Thursday that he does not believe the U.S. military is strong enough to deter Russia and China.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, asked Mattis if America has a strong enough military to be able to deter against those threats and he responded “No, sir.”
Mattis was speaking before the committee at his confirmation hearing to serve as President-elect Trump’s next secretary of defense. During the hearing, he talked about the state of the world order.
“I think it’s under the biggest attack since World War II, sir, and that’s from Russia, from terrorist groups and with what China is doing in the South China Sea,” Mattis said.
The former general talked about the need to increase the strength of the military so that diplomats are able to negotiate from a position of strength when dealing with a rising power such as China.
“I believe that we’re going to have to manage that competition between us and China. There’s another piece of wisdom from antiquity that says fear, honor and interest always seem to be the root causes of why a nation chooses to go to hostilities,” he said.
In responses delivered to the committee ahead of the hearing, Mattis called Russia a “strategic competitor,” stressing that the two countries should cooperate where they can and the U.S. should defend its interests where there is disagreement.
Mattis also fielded questions during the hearing about the U.S. counterterrorism strategy, saying that he will look at putting the fight against the Islamic State in Raqqa, Syria “on a more aggressive timeline,” if confirmed.
