Walter B. Jones: “while the cold war may be over, U.S. security interests endure. Unfortunately, many Americans do not fully appreciate…”

“while the cold war may be over, U.S. security interests endure. Unfortunately, many Americans do not fully appreciate this new dynamic. Indeed it is difficult to understand how emerging threats, may challenge future U.S. global interests. Some examples are very clear: China's rise to power is increasingly marked by military posturing and coercive diplomacy in the Pacific rim. An unstable and fragmented Russia turns to aggressive nationalism to hold itself together. Economic ruin, ethnic violence, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction pose serious threats to international stability. We have asked our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines to protect our country and its vital national security interests, in this evolving international environment. Our military is our first, and often our last line of defense and we must be prepared to provide it with the technological edge to defeat any enemy on any battlefield. I must remind my colleagues that the battlefield of the future has little resemblance to the battlefield of the past. Information warfare, wide availability of commercial off-the-shelf technology, and the proliferation of highly capable weapons systems, all contribute to a rapid evolution, in military tactics and doctrine. Understanding how these new conflicts and demands are burdening our services is difficult to do from an arms length distance here in Washington.”