Small Wars Journal

The Next President Will Face Tricky Military Questions

Thu, 12/31/2015 - 9:51pm

The Next President Will Face Tricky Military Questions by David Ignatius, Washington Post

Making New Year’s predictions is tricky in this turbulent world, but here’s one fairly safe bet: The next president will propose a more assertive U.S. foreign policy. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, has often sounded nearly as hawkish about the use of military force as the Republican contenders.

But what would a new U.S. assertiveness mean, in practical terms? What can U.S. military power do, realistically, to combat the Islamic State and other threats more effectively? How can China and Russia be checked militarily? The rhetoric of U.S. power will be flexed during the campaign, but what about the substance? Projecting power will be harder than many candidates seem to realize...

Read on.