Today, Jess, Les, Morgan, Andrew, and Amy break down the National Defense Strategy released last Friday, the Pentagon’s core blueprint for deterring adversaries and preventing conflict. Issued just weeks after the White House rolled out its National Security Strategy, the NDS reinforces familiar themes: deterring China through strength rather than conflict, pushing allies and partners to shoulder more regional security burdens, prioritizing the Western Hemisphere, and revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base. 

Does the strategy signal a meaningful pivot toward de-escalation with China? Can U.S. allies and partners realistically fulfill the burden-sharing roles the strategy assigns them? And as sovereignty, trade, and security increasingly collide, does this strategy provide a clear framework for managing overlapping global threats—or allow for too much ambiguity at a critical moment?

@NotTVJessJones

@lestermunson

@morganlroach

@AndrewBorene

@amykmitchell

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