(DCNF)—The U.S. military is no longer “prepared” to fight in a major war, according to a new study conducted by a congressional panel.
Though the threats the U.S. is facing are “the most serious and most challenging” it has seen in almost a century, the U.S. defense base is not equipped to meet the moment, according to a report from the Commission on the National Defense Strategy published on Monday. Among the biggest problems outlined in the report are a troubled Pentagon and a failure by the federal government to properly address threats emanating from adversaries like China and Russia.
“The United States last fought a global conflict during World War II, which ended nearly 80 years ago. The nation was last prepared for such a fight during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago. It is not prepared today,” the commission’s report reads. “The United States is still failing to act with the urgency required, across administrations and without regard to governing party. This report proposes a new approach to spur the speed and scale of change.”
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The congressionally established and bipartisan commission, made up of high-level defense and national security experts, is tasked with assessing the U.S. defense strategies and providing recommendations to Congress and the Pentagon. The most current report from the commission was created in part by the RAND Corporation, which provided “analytic, administrative, editorial, and publication support.”
Both China and Russia are bolstering their military capacity while working closer with one another, creating a looming threat from two of the world’s largest superpowers, the report reads. This relationship has also welcomed other American adversaries, such as Iran and North Korea.
But China remains the key player in the multi-nation axis, according to the report.
“The Commission finds that, in many ways, China is outpacing the United States and has largely negated the U.S. military advantage in the Western Pacific through two decades of focused military investment,” the report reads.
The new axis “creates a real risk, if not likelihood, that conflict anywhere could become a multitheater or global war,” according to the report.
The Pentagon is burdened with bureaucratic and slow-moving processes, relies on “decades-old military hardware” and has given way to a “culture of risk avoidance” that has contributed to a stagnate state, the report claims.
The military, itself, is also lagging behind in terms of “both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat,” according to the report. Newer technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber warfare and hypersonic weapon capabilities are some of the examples listed as necessary to help modernize the military.
More broadly, the U.S. defense base is “unable” to meet the needs of American allies in terms of military and technology equipment, according to the report. In the event of a multi-theater war, the U.S. will need to work with allies to amplify its military-industrial complex production capabilities, given that it alone is “unable to produce everything needed.”
