According to A. Wess Mitchell from Foreign Policy the US should move urgently to ensure it does not lose on all fronts in the case of a world war.
A U.S. soldier patrols near the Rumaylan oil wells in Syria on June 22, 2021 (AFP)
According to A. Wess Mitchell from Foreign Policy the US is dangerously close to defeat in a global conflict. Two of the three most strategically significant regions in the world are home to grave conflicts that demand American attention.
Mitchell warns that if China decides to attack Taiwan, the US would be dragged into a 3-front conflict, something the nation as well as its allies should be ready for.
The author believes that China’s desire to move on to Taiwan will increase as Russia prepares for a protracted war in Ukraine and a new front opens in “Israel,” emphasizing that if war breaks out, the US would find that crucial elements like geography are completely against it.
This would prove detrimental to the US which has vowed to protect Taiwan at all costs.
The current Congressional Strategic Posture Commission and the previous two U.S. national defense strategies both made it apparent that the U.S. military is not built to fight two major adversaries at once. Should China launch an assault on Taiwan, the US would face significant challenges in continuing to defend “Israel” and Ukraine while repelling China.
A “thinly stretched US military” with allies that are not well-equipped to “Defend themselves” can only mean defeat for the US in this case.
In addition to the disadvantage that comes with an army that has shrunk to its smallest size since WW2, the US will not be able to outproduce its rivals.
China’s navy already surpasses that of the United States in the number of fleet, and every four years it grows by the same amount as the entire French Navy (roughly 130 vessels, based on the French naval chief of staff). In contrast, over the next ten years, the U.S. Navy intends to add 75 more ships.
Funding is another major disadvantage for the already painfully generous US. The national debt to GDP ratio in the United States nearly doubled during World War II, rising from 61 percent to 113 percent of GDP. In contrast, today’s US would be entering a conflict with debt that already exceeds 100% of GDP.
This means the dept could increase to 200% of GDP, a catastrophic situation for the US economy.
Source: English Almayadeen
