Limited Print and Electronic Distribution RightsThis document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.

Quadrennial Defense Review of 2014. It is, obviously, not an optimistic take on the future military balance; regrettably, it has proven prophetic. Dempsey made his assessment before Russia intervened forcibly in eastern Ukraine, before the so-called Islamic State or ISIS overran and seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq,

No abstract

No abstract

Strategy promulgated by the Trump administration in early 2018, and the largely positive reception that it has enjoyed, signals the emergence of a recognition that the capabilities of U.S. military forces have been eroding vis-à-vis those of key adversaries, especially China and Russia. 1 As a consequence, the United States' ability to deter aggression and intimidation, to assure allies, and to influence events in East Asia and Europe is being undermined. Unless steps are taken to reverse these trends, the United States could find itself playing a greatly diminished role internationally, irrespective of the strategies and intentions of this administration or its successors. The passage by Congress of a two-year budget agreement for fiscal years (FYs) 2019 and 2020 that substantially increases funding for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) opens up the possibility of making investments in new capabilities and regional postures that can improve the ability of the United States to deter and defeat large-scale aggression by the most-threatening adversary states. But even the $165 billion in additional money that would be added to DoD's topline in the coming two years will not be sufficient to fund every worthy claimant on DoD's resources. 2 Choices will have to be made if future U.S. forces are to meet the operational challenges confronting them. This Perspective is intended to help inform those choices.