Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), said President Biden's defensive plans do a great job of outlining threats against America, but they provide no concrete solutions on how to handle them, and commit to actions that only make America weaker.
“The National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review and Missile Defense Review confirm the Biden Administration’s ‘say-do gap’ on national defense issues. This administration affirms that we are in a ‘decisive decade’ and cements the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as America’s pacing challenge,” Wittman said in a statement provided to State Newswire. “These documents, however, do not reflect a plan to meet that challenge. As such, the Nuclear Posture Review alone seeks to retire components of our nuclear triad, recklessly undermining our ability to credibly deter aggression from our adversaries.”
The biggest threat will be China, which the Biden Administration and the Department of Defense acknowledge, he said in his statement.
“Further, the Biden Administration’s continued aspiration to cooperate with China on common issues is unserious. Rather, it demonstrates the White House’s inability to make the hard choices necessary to prioritize the military posture and capabilities required to effectively advance U.S. interests and uphold our commitments to allies and partners against our clear adversary – the Chinese Communist Party,” Wittman said in his statement.
The National Defense Strategy is the role the Department of Defense plays in implementing the President's National Security Strategy, the department’s website said. Published every four years, it states the worldwide strategic environment, force posture and America’s role in global security.
The Nuclear Posture Review is a legislatively mandated document designed to set U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities and force posture for five to ten years, the website said.
The Missile Defense Review is a portion of the National Defense Strategy that reports on the direction of U.S. missile defense strategy, policy and capabilities, according to a fact sheet. It includes enemy development, fielding and integration of emerging missile technologies into their own national defensive strategies.
The Nuclear Posture Review reported the cancellation of the SLCM-N (Sea Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear) capability. This program has long been supported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Strategic Command. The review deemed it of “zero-value.” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated “Our inventory of nuclear weapons is significant. We determined as we looked at our inventory that we don’t need that capability,” USNI reported.
The strategy mentions China 13 times. The Defense Department said it will continue to help strengthen U.S. allies in Southeast Asia’s defensive postures. America will continue to rely on strategic deterrence to combat the nuclear threat China poses, using its nuclear arsenal and nuclear missile sensing systems.
Wittman was elected in 2007 and sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Natural Resources. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Virginia Tech, a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
