Colin Kahl, President Joe Biden’s pick to be Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing yesterday and while his full testimony remains to be reviewed, the written answers he provided in response to advance policy questions indicate that the Biden’s Administration’s policies towards Russia and China will retain the geopolitical basis underlying the strategic documents of the previous administration.
“I believe the 2018 NDS (National Defense Strategy) accurately identifies strategic competition with China and Russia as the primary challenge animating the global security environment,” Kahl wrote. “The continued erosion of U.S. military advantage vis-à-vis China and Russia, in key strategic areas, remains the most significant risk the Department must address. I assess China is the top priority and pacing threat for the Department, given its increasing scope and scale of military modernization, its aggressive behavior, and its potential as a systemic competitor across multiple domains.”
Further on Russia, Kahl stated that U.S.-Russian relations may be at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. “If we are unable to re-establish Russia’s understanding of and compliance with international norms and acceptable behavior in the international arena, the relationship will continue to decline,” he said. “Reconstructing this baseline of norms will be challenging, but it is a prerequisite to any sustainable normalization of relations between our countries.”
“Russia’s behavior indicates it seeks to undermine and overturn the rules-based international order established during the post-World War II period,” Kahl went on. “From its blatant disregard for the sovereignty of its neighbors, to using chemical weapons to murder dissidents around the world, persistent cyber attacks against its neighbors and Russia’s contempt for the international rules of the road makes Americans less safe. Over the past four years, it has expanded its military footprint abroad, largely by taking advantage of crises. This strategic orientation is largely incompatible with the principles of democratic societies governed by the rule of law.” This comes from a leader of the country which has military bases in 80 countries around the world.
Nonetheless, Kahl said, “there are a few basic areas where our interests may overlap. Russia’s foremost security interest is the survival of the Putin regime, and so ensuring strategic stability and minimizing the risk of unintended escalation across all domains.”
