The Pentagon’s pivot to Asia since the Obama years has been grounded in a belief that China is the greatest challenge to America’s global influence. However, the challenge presented by China in Asia is mainly economic and technological in character, whereas the challenge presented by Russia in Europe is now decidedly military in nature. It follows that Washington will need to think more expansively about how to posture its military for the long-term threat posed by Moscow. That would be true even if Russia did not possess a sprawling nuclear arsenal, because geography, leadership values and other factors all dispose Russia to westward expansion. Nobody seriously expects Beijing to invade any country other than Taiwan, and that danger can be easily dealt with by deploying a U.S. armored brigade to the island nation. Russia’s military threat in Europe is too extensive to be easily addressed. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.
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