U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said he will demand that the Biden administration “fully fund” priorities outlined in the unclassified National Defense Strategy (NDS), Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and Missile Defense Review (MDR) recently released.
The U.S. Department of Defense released the strategic reviews on Thursday in an integrated manner to match resources to goals, a news release said.
The National Defense Strategy identifies how the U.S. military will meet threats “to U.S. national security interests and to a stable and open international system,” the release said. The Nuclear Posture Review emphasizes that nuclear weapons would be used “in extreme circumstances” to defend the U.S., its allies and partners. The Missile Defense Review “underscores that missile defense contributes to integrated deterrence by undermining a potential foe’s confidence in its ability to mount a successful attack.”
Lamborn in particular criticized the National Defense Strategy review.
“Much like the last budget the Biden administration sent to Congress, this NDS reflects no hard choices and leaves an unclear picture of the methods that will be employed to contend with the threats our country faces,” Lamborn said in a press release. “The NDS claims to support the National Security Strategy’s guidance through this ‘decisive decade,’ yet offers competing approaches to deterrence. While the NDS does identify legitimate security concerns, it does not attempt to untangle the web of threats, capabilities, domains, regions and internal department issues. Instead, numerous overlapping solutions are presented and rubber-stamped as cohesive under the marker of ‘integrated deterrence.’”
The National Defense Strategy review outlined four required priorities for the Department of Defense: Defend the homeland, considering the People’s Republic of China’s “growing multi-domain threat”; deter strategic attacks against the U.S., its allies and partners; deter aggression, while being prepared for conflict; and build “a resilient Joint Force and defense ecosystem.” The department can achieve its goals through “integrated deterrence, campaigning and building enduring advantage,” the review said.
“The NPR and MDR, on the other hand, offer a much more nuanced and rational approach to the complicated challenges they set out to address,” Lamborn said in the release. “The NPR supports full nuclear triad and command and control modernization, and the MDR elaborates on air and missile threats that can be addressed through a series of existing and advanced capabilities.”
The National Defense Strategy is the role the Department of Defense plays in implementing the president's National Security Strategy, a history of the review said. It discusses the worldwide strategic environment, force posture and America's role in global security. The report is published every four years.
“The Nuclear Posture Review is a legislatively mandated review that establishes U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities and force posture for the next five to 10 years,” the U.S. Department of Defense’s website said.
The Missile Defense Review is a portion of the National Defense Strategy that gives “direction to U.S. missile defense strategy, policy and capabilities,” a fact sheet said.
