Former Senior Defense Official Weighs in on America’s Strategy Crisis

According to a statement, “For the first time since the Cold War, American officials are warning that the United States could lose a great power war, specifically to China. And while China’s rise dominates the headlines, dangers from Russia, terrorists, Iran, and North Korea persist. The United States can’t rely on its military to overwhelm an opponent, as in previous generations. Instead the country must make choices—deciding where to focus and where not to, what to do and what not to. Failing to adopt the right strategy will result in crisis—and very possibly war and even defeat.”

“In his landmark new book, Elbridge A. Colby offers a clear, rigorous, and accessible way forward for the United States at this dangerous and challenging time. Colby is uniquely well suited to do this. He served as the lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, widely heralded as the most significant revision of U.S. defense strategy in a generation. In THE STRATEGY OF DENIAL: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict (Yale University Press | September 14, 2021), Colby lays out the strategy the country should pursue, urging Americans to prepare for war, above all against China—precisely to deter it.
Colby’s starting point is that American supremacy is over; gone are the days of U.S. military dominance. The new and challenging global environment is defined, above all, by the emergence of China. At the same time, Colby shows how and why the United States retains critical interests in the broader world, especially in Asia and Europe, and cannot simply withdraw to its shores. With the return of great power competition, the United States will be required to reorient its defense thinking on a scale not seen since the Cold War—or risk military loss, with enormous costs to Americans’ real and concrete interests.

“Such a restructuring requires a strategy—a framework for making decisions. Deftly weaving together analytical depth and practical understanding, Colby provides just such a strategy, and one that is both rigorous and informed by contemporary policy. THE STRATEGY OF DENIAL offers straightforward, clearly argued answers to questions the United States must answer: Which wars should it be prepared to fight? Which not? Why should we fight the ones we need to? And how can the country win wars in a way that the American people will support?

“THE STRATEGY OF DENIAL is the most informed and in-depth reappraisal of America’s defense strategy in decades. While there have been many books on U.S. grand strategy, this is the first to offer a clear and developed vision of how to adapt the nation’s defense to a new era. Colby’s blueprint for the future will prove indispensable reading to engaged citizens, officials, and experts here and in Asia, Europe, and beyond.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
“Elbridge A. Colby is co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative. He served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development from 2017 through 2018, during which time he led the development of the 2018 National Defense Strategy.”