Sputnik Intenational
By Fantine Gardinier
October 27, 2022
The US Department of Defense has published its first National Defense Strategy (NDS) in almost five years, combining them with two other documents typically issued separately: the Nuclear Posture Review and the Missile Defense Review. The public-facing documents outline Washington’s strategic focus under the Biden administration.
In the previous NDS, published in January 2018, the Pentagon introduced a shift in Washington’s primary strategic focus based on the idea that “inter-state strategic competition, not terrorism, is now the primary concern in US national security.” The new document has refined that aim, identifying China as the US’ primary threat, while highlighting Russia as an “acute threat” that is nonetheless incapable of challenging the US-led global order over the long term.