The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare

by Christian Brose

The greater danger now is where things are headed—which is toward the continued erosion of not only US military dominance but also America’s ability to deter conventional war with China. If that deterrence disappears, what would likely fill the vacuum is a Chinese form of military dominance over much of the Asia-Pacific region—a region that is home to some of America’s closest allies and that is the center of the global economy, on which the jobs, security, and well-being of millions of Americans depend. If that were to happen, Americans will be living in a world where the ultimate check on China’s military or other ambitions is either the prudence and magnanimity of the Chinese Communist Party—or the willingness of the president of the United States to escalate every crisis with China, no matter how big or small, to the brink of nuclear war, which is hardly believable and even less desirable.