The United States faces an unprecedented array of threats, from traditional adversaries such as Russia and China, to the ongoing threat from Islamist extremist groups at a time when budget constraints make those threats harder to deal with, Pentagon officials told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
“The global security environment is the most challenging of our lifetime,” said newly installed Defense Intelligence Agency Chief Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart. “This strategic environment will be with us for some time.”
Stewart listed three priorities of threats: large states such as Russia and China that are capable of matching the U.S. militarily, an increase in vulnerable and ungoverned territory due to the erosion of moderate Muslim states that fosters the growth of extremism, and challenges to U.S. abilities to function in space and cyberspace — not just from Russia and China, but also from smaller countries such as North Korea and Iran.
“Our ability to defend the networks is pretty strong, but the pressure is growing,” Stewart said.
Budget constraints, however, are making it harder for military intelligence to keep watch globally and predict where the next crisis will occur, Stewart said.
“Our ability to warn is being reduced,” he said.
Meanwhile, cuts to the size of military forces is putting more strain on service members and their families as well as the ability to meet threats that emerge, said Lt. Gen. William Mayville, director of operations for the Joint Staff. “It will force us to have a greater reliance on our allies and partners,” he said.
Their comments echoed recent assessments by several retired military leaders and former secretaries of state, who have recommended that the United States tighten up its strategic focus.
“America needs a refreshed national strategy,” retired Gen. James Mattis, former Central Command chief, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week.
“There is an urgent need to stop reacting to each immediate vexing issue in isolation. Such response often creates unanticipated second-order effects and more problems for us,” Mattis said.
