To Focus on China, U.S. Needs to Wean off Europe and Middle East Missions

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Robert Ashley, Jr. (Ret.)</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/christian-beckner">Christian Beckner</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/samuel-bendett">Samuel Bendett</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/paul-benfield">Paul Benfield</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/rachel-brandenburg">Rachel Brandenburg</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/dr-jonathan-brewer">Dr. Jonathan Brewer</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/josh-campbell">Josh Campbell</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/pablo-chavez">Pablo Chavez</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/richard-connolly">Richard Connolly</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/john-costello">John Costello</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/eitan-danon">Eitan Danon</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.cnas.org/people/richard-j-danzig">Richard J. 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<span class="image-attribution__label">Image Credit</span> </button> <p class="sans-serif fz11 bold uppercase margin-bottom-1em">October 28, 2024</p> </div> <div class="article__header__title-group"> <h1 class="page-title">To Focus on China, U.S. Needs to Wean off Europe and Middle East Missions</h1> </div> <div class="article__header__meta"> <p class="margin-top-1em article__header__meta__byline"> <span class="sans-serif fz14">By:</span> <a class="contributor" href="https://www.cnas.org/people/carlton-haelig">Carlton Haelig</a> </p> <div class="social-icons margin-top-1em"> <a class="social-icon" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnas.org%2Fpublications%2Fcommentary%2Fto-focus-on-china-u-s-needs-to-wean-off-europe-and-middle-east-missions"> <span class="sprite -facebook "> <svg width="20" height="20" class="svgsprite"> <title>Facebook</title> <use xlink:href="/assets/images/icons.svg?v=2#facebook"></use> </svg> </span> </a> <a class="social-icon" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=To%20Focus%20on%20China%2C%20U.S.%20Needs%20to%20Wean%20off%20Europe%20and%20Middle%20East%20Missions&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnas.org%2Fpublications%2Fcommentary%2Fto-focus-on-china-u-s-needs-to-wean-off-europe-and-middle-east-missions&via=CNASdc"> <span class="sprite -twitter "> <svg width="20" height="20" class="svgsprite"> <title>Twitter</title> <use xlink:href="/assets/images/icons.svg?v=2#twitter"></use> </svg> </span> </a> <a class="social-icon" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnas.org%2Fpublications%2Fcommentary%2Fto-focus-on-china-u-s-needs-to-wean-off-europe-and-middle-east-missions&title=To%20Focus%20on%20China%2C%20U.S.%20Needs%20to%20Wean%20off%20Europe%20and%20Middle%20East%20Missions&mini=true"> <span class="sprite -linkedin "> <svg width="20" height="20" class="svgsprite"> <title>LinkedIn</title> <use xlink:href="/assets/images/icons.svg?v=2#linkedin"></use> </svg> </span> </a> <a class="social-icon" href="javascript:window.print()"> <span class="sprite -printer "> <svg width="24" height="24" class="svgsprite"> <title>Print</title> <use xlink:href="/assets/images/icons.svg?v=2#printer"></use> </svg> </span> </a> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="container"> <div class="row" >  <div id="mainbar" class="col-sm-12"> <div class="wrapper wysiwyg margin-vertical "> <p>Earlier this month, Gen. Charles Flynn, the head of US Army Pacific, appeared at the Center for a New American Security with a clear warning: China’s build-up in land, air, and naval power has put it on an “accelerated path” toward military superiority in the region.</p> <p>Concerns about China’s military capabilities are par for the course in national security circles these days, but Flynn’s direct comments serve as a good reminder that the PLA’s growth is not something just happening in hypothetical papers, but something the US military is seeing in real time.</p> </div> <div class="wrapper -large -clear default"> <div class="pullquote margin-vertical default"> <blockquote> <p>If the United States cannot rebalance its military focus toward the Indo-Pacific it risks expediting Chinese aggression in the region and furthering the decline of the US-led economic and political order worldwide.</p> </blockquote> </div> </div> <div class="wrapper wysiwyg margin-vertical "> <p>The problem is that for all the talk about how China is the “pacing challenge” and needs to be the main focus for Washington, the US is overstretched at this most critical juncture. The uncomfortable reality: To be able to focus on China, American commitments need to change abroad.</p> <p>A quick survey of America’s missions abroad sums the situation up.<br /></p> <p>Read the article on <a href="https://breakingdefense.com/2024/10/to-focus-on-china-us-needs-to-wean-off-europe-and-middle-east-missions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Breaking Defense</em></a>. </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="row"> <div id="biblio" class="col-sm-12"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div id="biblio" class="col-sm-12"> <section class="publications-block margin-vertical" > <div class="wrapper -large"> <h2 class="section-title -related margin-bottom-half-em" id="related-publications" data-toc-skip> <span> More from CNAS </span> </h2> <ul class="entry-listing"> <li class="-with-image"> <div class="labeled-image"> <a href="https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/integration-for-innovation" target="" aria-label="Integration for Innovation - image link"> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" srcset=" https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/_165x110_crop_center-center_none/Defense-taskforce-hero-final_2024-10-01-145805_ntve.jpg 165w, https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/_285x190_crop_center-center_none/Defense-taskforce-hero-final_2024-10-01-145805_ntve.jpg 285w, https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/files.cnas.org/_400x267_crop_center-center_none/Defense-taskforce-hero-final_2024-10-01-145805_ntve.jpg 400w" sizes="(min-width: 600px) 285px, (min-width: 430px) 400px, calc(100vw - 30px)" width="400" height="267" class="desaturate" alt=""> </a> <span class="label">Reports</span> </div> <ul class="entry-listing__meta"> <li>September 25, 2024</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/integration-for-innovation" target="" class="sans-serif fz16 bold margin-top-half-em">Integration for Innovation</a> <p class="fz13 sans-serif margin-vertical-1em"> Executive Summary In August 2023, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks made a clear case that the Department of Defense (DoD) must do better in “creat[ing] and exploit[i... </p> <p class="fz15 margin-top-1em"> <span class="screenreader-only">By</span> Michael Brown, Ellen Lord, Andrew Metrick & Robert O. 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