Defense One: IDEAS.
"Authoritarians are playing to win. America can’t if we don’t
show up." Two retired four-stars lay out the case for the National
Security Emergency Package currently being considered in the House. PHILIP BREEDLOVE and SAMUEL J. LOCKLEAR III | MARCH
16, 2024
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2024/03/authoritarians-are-playing-win-america-cant-if-we-dont-show/395008/ The comments within the brackets are my own and highlighted yellow.
[The following ideas are only half baked. Security in the real interdependent world is an illusion. And defense without ‘justice for all’ is simply unsustainable]
A global chess game is underway and America’s security
depends on it [winning it in
a sustainable way]. Congressional negotiators are counting votes to
break gridlock and fund America’s national security. As they do, thousands of
miles away, an opposite set of deliberations are afoot, from Moscow to Tehran
to Beijing, not to build a secure America—but to work against the interests of
our citizens. [Certainly not future generations. Given that both sides are in a perpetual struggle to
protect their national sovereignty instead protecting human rights and the environment.
And neither side is considering the inevitable
consequences of the escalating evolution of weapons, war, pathogens, environmental
degradation, corruption, economic debt instability, political polarization, and
dysfunctional political system – each causing disruptive problems that cannot
be controlled by military power, diplomacy, hopes, or prayers...thing are not
going to end well for anyone. Cascading
global failures are inevitable playing this zero-sum game between nations, corporations,
and organizations. It is simply unsustainable
on this planet where everything is connected, interdependent, and vulnerable.
And only a global effort like the eradication of smallpox can save us and the
generations to come from hell on earth.
As military officers who [bravely] spent our lives in uniform and oversaw
U.S. military operations at NATO and in the Pacific, we believe today’s world
is more complicated, more threatening, and most of all more interconnected than
any we’ve witnessed [because
their minds believed that peace through strength between ‘independent’ nations in
an irreversibly interdependent world could keep them free and safe. But that is not the way reality works. And wars lost by both the US and the USSR should
have confirmed that.]
In real time, Iran is seizing the opportunity to empower
Houthi extremists in the Red Sea and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. As North
Korean-built missiles fall on Ukrainian targets, Putin welcomes this rising
regional instability, distracting the world from the battlefield between Kiev
and Crimea. All the while, Beijing watches closely to determine whether the
invasion of Ukraine is either a cautionary tale or a greenlight when it comes
to Taiwan.
As the Senate passed the National Security Emergency Package
last month, Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., aptly described this moment, “If we
walk away, you will see the alliance that is supporting Ukraine crumble. You
will ultimately see China become emboldened. And I am not going to be on that
page of history.” As America’s national security hangs in the balance,
the package now being considered in the House is essential to counter those
who would do us harm. And with Putin making Ukraine’s economy another
theater of war, the critical U.S. civilian economic and humanitarian
assistance—alongside security assistance—will be just as vital to ensure
Ukraine can continue to defend its territory and prevent Russian forces from
pushing further into Europe.
Meanwhile, other crises metastasize. Ukraine is known as
the “breadbasket of Europe” and the invasion is one of the core reasons that 9
in 10 people face acute levels of food insecurity in hot spots already affected
by fragility and conflict – countries like Sudan, Yemen, and Syria. The
last time the world faced such a significant food crisis, it helped contribute
to bloody conflict across the Middle East and North Africa and the rise of
ISIS. Currently, 150 million people are facing “acute food insecurity” and 108
million have been forced to flee their homes worldwide.
Likewise, China is on the march, accumulating influence and
economic riches across Africa and the Global South. Beijing has upped its
global development investment more than fivefold over 15 years, and is already
beginning to reap the dividends. From critical minerals in Africa to
relationships in Latin America and southeast Asia, the race is on for the
export markets that will define this century.
In our country, meanwhile, isolationist [and some ‘peace’ activists]
headwinds are animating our nation’s politics. Some of our fellow citizens believe our
nation should turn inward. But we’ve learned the hard way that our two
oceans will not protect us from the threats of the 21st century. And while
the notion that politics should stop at the water’s edge may no longer be quite
as sacrosanct, it's why we are part of a group of more than 260 retired
three- and four-star generals and admirals who continue to speak out around the
country on why America has to engage in the world to stop threats before they
arrive on our shores.
Some argue that democracy is not suited to this moment. We
disagree. We believe that the vibrancy of our democracy earns the United
States a credibility that Putin, Kim Jong Un, and the Ayatollah can only dream
of: admiration and allies, not just transactional relationships. But you
can’t win if you don’t show up. [no! we can only win this chess
game if we can stop the growing assault on our national borders which are
impervious to pandemics, violent extremists, acerating extreme weather events,
the rapid extinction of species, and the economic and migratory consequences
hunger, wars, genocides, corruption, and cruelty.}
The world is watching the chessboard to see whether the
United States can deliver—on security, on economic competition, and on
humanitarian crises—in the way that’s always defined and differentiated us from
the competition. Over the last year, it’s no secret that our allies have been
stepping up—as they should—with European countries now committing $3 for every
$1 the U.S. has contributed to Ukraine. Yet the stakes for our own interests
are too high for our nation to sit on the sidelines.
We agree with Speaker Mike Johnson when he affirmed that “we
can’t allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe.” How can we get there?
Passing the National Security Emergency Package in the House is critical, not
just for the reinforcement it must bring to the Pentagon and our comrades in
arms, but equally so to their partners at the State Department and USAID.
These investments [plus funding and achieving the SDGs ASAP] are
essential to meet the civilian security, economic, and humanitarian needs
rapidly piling up before those too demand military solutions. Together,
these agencies—defense and civilian—make up America’s team and they need our
urgent support.
In national security, one may debate causality against
correlation, but there are no coincidences. When Moscow hosted Hamas at the
Kremlin after the barbaric October 7 terrorist attacks, and Xi Jinping hosted
Putin in Beijing during China’s recent 130-country conference, and North
Korea’s Kim Jong Un toured Russian missile sites, the message was clear.
The authoritarians are playing to win on the global
chessboard, and they’re acting in lockstep. [where our military, all political parties, and our nation's progressive movements continue
act in their own mission’s interest. United we are not.
Passing a budget up to the challenge is the first way to put
us on a path to check our adversaries and competitors—and to protect our
national interests, our citizens, and our way of life. [our natural resources infrastructure that
our future security depends on is not a priority]
Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general,
commanded NATO Supreme Allied Command from 2013 to 2016.
Sam Locklear, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, commanded U.S.
Pacific Command from 2012 to 2015.
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