James Stavridis
James Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A retired U.S. Navy admiral, former supreme allied commander of NATO, and dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, he is vice chairman of global affairs at the Carlyle Group. He is the author most recently of "To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision." @stavridisj
In dealing with a rising China, one vital element of America’s national approach is missing: a long-term strategy. I spent decades as a strategic planner in the Pentagon, mostly focused on that elusive point where budget — money to pay troops, buy weapons, build overseas bases, conduct crucial research — meets a viable strategic conce It is hard work, believe me. We did high fives when we managed to construct a short, five-year plan for defense spending, and that was before we needed to incorporate the threat of China as a true rival. Meanwhile, my opposite number in the People’s Liberation Army, under the watchful eye of the Chinese Communist Party, was methodically, deliberately and efficiently building at least a 50-year plan, if not something that looked a century into the future. China is the ultimate long-term planner, and we’ve never been able to replicate that in Washington.
No comments:
Post a Comment