The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has undertaken a comprehensive assessment of Chinese military capabilities, economic developments, and political and foreign policy objectives. Their annual report is a superb resource for Congress and the public. In the report, the Commission has assessed the key military and foreign policy developments made by China in the past year and the implications for our own policies and posture in the region. While we continue to warn about our military's readiness and the dangerous effects of budget cuts and sequestration, China's military...

Al Qaeda declared war on the United States and then successfully attacked us multiple times in 1998 and 2000, culminating with the horrific attack on 9/11. Since then Al Qaeda, its affiliates, and associated groups have maintained their global presence, increased their safe havens, and expanded their influence. They continue to plot attacks against our homeland and our allies and partners around the globe. In an op-ed just a few weeks ago Peter Bergen asserted that, and I quote, "From Aleppo in western Syria to Fallujah in central Iraq, Al Qaeda now controls territory that stretches more than...

The transfer of five senior Taliban detainees from detention at Guantanamo Bay to the Government of Qatar in exchange for Sergeant Bergdahl raises numerous national security policy and legal questions. The transfer is a clear violation of section 1035 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014. There is no compelling reason why the Department could not provide a notification to Congress 30 days before the transfer, especially when it has complied with the notification requirement for all previous GTMO Guantanamo Bay Naval Base] detainee transfers since enactment of the law. The...

The Department of Defense has spent billions of dollars developing the organizations, capabilities, and personnel needed to operate in cyberspace. Today, we face a diverse and persistent threat in cyberspace from state and non-state actors that cannot be defeated through the efforts of any single organization. Our increasingly wired and interconnected world has brought prosperity and economic gain to the United States. However, our dependence on these systems also leaves us vulnerable, and the cyber threats are increasing and evolving, posing greater risk to the network and systems of the...

Russia has consolidated its gains in Ukraine, has intervened in Syria, and has continued to take unprecedented provocative actions against North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) ships and planes. In many ways Russia presents unique challenges, as it has the only nuclear arsenal, which it continues to modernize, that is comparable to that of the United States; other countries are also going to school on the tactics Putin is using in Ukraine, Syria, and elsewhere. We can expect to see more of their tactics employed in other places by other actors. We need to understand the challenges...

When Winston Churchill gave his famous Iron Curtain speech in Fulton, Missouri, among his insights was this, "I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. What they desire is the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines." He went on, "From what I have seen of our Russian friends and allies during the war I am convinced there is nothing they admire so much as strength and there is nothing for which they have less respect than weakness, especially military weakness." What was true then is true now and we are seeing it play out before our eyes. The famous reset...