United States | Red alert

America is not ready for a major war, says a bipartisan commission

The country is unaware of the dangers ahead and of the costs to prepare for them

A US Army soldier stands near a tank in Trenton, New Jersey, January 14th 2024
A not-so-super powerPhotograph: US Army/Spc. Michael Schwenk

GENERAL CHARLES “CQ” BROWN, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, America’s top military officer, recently told the Aspen Security Forum, a gathering of the country’s foreign-policy elite, that the nation’s armed forces were the “most lethal, most respected combat force in the world”. Steely-faced, and to jubilant whoops, he declared: “I do not play for second place.”

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From the August 3rd 2024 edition

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