The United States' defense strategy is facing challenges as it navigates conflicts in multiple theaters. Under the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, the US has operated under the assumption that it would only need to fight one war at a time. However, the current reality is that the US is involved in two wars: Ukraine's conflict in Europe and Israel's conflict in the Middle East. Additionally, there is the potential for a third conflict in East Asia over Taiwan or South Korea.
To effectively address these challenges, the US and its allies need to prioritize interoperability, which involves the ability to quickly allocate resources to the ally that needs them most. This requires the US to be able to meet the needs of its own armed forces as well as those of its allies. One way to enhance interoperability is by expanding access to militarily useful airfields and ports, not just restricting it to designated US bases. Cooperation and coordination with partners, such as Japan, is crucial in this regard.
In addition to interoperability, the US and its partners must improve their defense capabilities against increasingly advanced missile threats. This includes enhancing the defense of facilities and developing shared concepts and strategies. Close cooperation on munitions, military basing, and the defense industry is also necessary.
The US military's current positioning in the Middle East is not ideal for a sustained conflict, and there are concerns about its ability to sustain responsiveness over a prolonged period of time. The US faces a shortage of intelligence assets, targeting expertise, and linguists, which hampers its ability to detect and disrupt plots by violent extremist organizations. However, sending more troops to the Middle East and bolstering intelligence assets in the long term could prove challenging due to existing troop deployments in Europe and the focus on countering China in Asia. The US should find a way to strengthen its position in the Middle East without compromising its focus on China.
Contrary to a common misconception, the main purpose of the U.S. military is not solely to fight and win wars. According to Melanie Sisson, writing for Federal News Network, the mission of the U.S. Department of Defense is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and ensure national security. Sisson emphasizes the importance of deterrence in the current global environment, where larger states with diverging interests are becoming more assertive and aggressive. She highlights the significance of deterrence in the context of China and Taiwan, noting the economic disincentives for violence in the Taiwan Strait due to the economic integration between the two countries. Sisson suggests that deterrence in the modern era requires a different approach, considering factors such as emerging technologies and the composition of the U.S. military forces.
The article also discusses the potential differences in military policy, acquisition policy, and budgeting policy between a second Biden administration and a Trump administration, highlighting the unpredictability of the latter.
Overall, the U.S. military's main purpose is to deter war and ensure national security, with the ability to fight and win wars as a secondary objective. This understanding of the military's purpose is crucial in shaping defense strategies and prioritizing resources to address the challenges in multiple theaters.