The United States must remain strategically engaged in the world. It “has an indispensable role to play in reintegrating a former adversary into the international system, maintaining a global balance of power more generally, and preserving a favorable climate for economic growth and the development of liberal constitutionalism.” To achieve these ends, the United States must apply its global military and intelligence capabilities, the maintenance of which is a sine qua non for preserving American political influence. The U.S. approach must be “flexible, persistent, patient, and geared to the long term.” Militarily, what is needed is a rethinking of the peacetime roles and missions of the armed forces and their various component parts. For its part, intelligence analysis must be able to identify opportunities and vulnerabilities that can exploited to advance the national interest.
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