AMERICAN MILITARY SUPERIORITY ‘SERIOUSLY ERODED’
Sunday, February 3rd, 2019
American Military Superiority ‘Seriously Eroded’
A US soldier stands at the Qayyarah military base during the ongoing operation to recapture the last major Iraqi city under the control of the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in October 2016 (Photo: YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)American military superiority has eroded seriously in the last decades. This was the conclusion of the latest report by the National Defense Strategy Commission, a bipartisan body charged by Congress to evaluate the U.S.’ defense capabilities.
The commission said the erosion was to such a “dangerous degree” that “America’s ability to defend its allies, its partners, and its own vital interests is increasingly in doubt.”
The report further stated, “If the nation does not act promptly to remedy these circumstances, the consequences will be grave and lasting.”
It notes that due to the superiority of American military power in the past, the U.S.:
- has deterred or defeated aggression and preserved stability in key regions around the globe
- ensured freedoms around the globe on which American and international prosperity depends
- given America unrivaled access and influence
- prevented America from being coerced or intimidated
- helped to avert a recurrence of the devastating global wars of the early 20th century, which required repeated interventions at a cost of hundreds of thousands of U.S. lives
“Put simply,” the report states, “U.S. military power has been indispensable to global peace and stability—and to America’s own security, prosperity, and global leadership.”
One of the main reasons America has seen its military edge slip away is budgetary cuts, which have prevented “essential … modernization” that have contributed to shortfalls in readiness.
