28.03.2018, London.
The US Department of Defense entertains the idea of a real world war, preventive deterrence expert Micah Zenko wrote in an article published on March 26 by the Chatham House UK-based analytical center.
Discussing US foreign policy, Micah Zenko pointed out that the American society has a growing understanding that other countries have long transitioned to “great-power politics,” while the US still play by the American model of “rules-based international order.”
Therefore, foreign policy priorities have shifted from countering terrorism towards great-power competition, which is reflected in the national security strategy and the national defense strategy.
Furthermore, according to Micah Zenko, the Pentagon itches to unleash a real war, because 70 years without war have changed the US position in the world. Zenko supports his words with a statement made by an unidentified source from the Pentagon, “Real men fight real wars. We like the clarity of big wars.”
The expert also says that these statements are not just words. He believes that “[The US ― Rossa Primavera Information Agency] Defense Department plans for, and reserves the right to, use of force anywhere in the world — including against Chinese and Russian critical infrastructure — to attempt to defeat any perceived threat.”
Also, according to Micah Zenko, the conventional approach of spending more money, buying more weapons platforms and conducting more shows of force and freedom of navigation patrols does not work in countering China. Therefore, the expert believes, “Many in the Pentagon want China to attempt to overtly challenge the United States within domains where the United States enjoys a distinct military advantage, and for China to fail in order to reestablish US primacy.”
Micah Zenko is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He works at the CFR’s Center for Preventive Action, and he is the author of two books on deterrence. Previously, he was a professor at Harvard University, co-operated with Brookings Institute, and served in the government for several years as part of the US Department of State Policy Planning Staff.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
