Biden’s task is building a better national security policy

President Biden has labeled his economic recovery program “Build Back Better,” a slogan that also should guide his national security policy. In the national security realm, the Biden administration will need to master five areas: understanding the policy context, prioritizing new national security issues, managing shrinking resources, reinvigorating diplomacy and cultivating our alliances.

First, context was, is and will be king. The Biden national security team looks to many like Obama 3, but the environment has changed markedly since 2009. For the past year, the country has been beset by a pandemic that has killed more Americans in 11 months than World War II did in 44 months. The pandemic has brought on a severe recession. On top of this, Americans were reminded last year of another domestic enemy: the systemic racism that stands between the American people and a just society. 

In 2009, the war against Islamist terrorism was the top foreign national security concern. In the interim, principal military threats, as Presidents Obama and Trump acknowledged, have grown to include China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Today, the leftover wars — Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Yemen — have diminished in salience but remain on the Biden agenda. The Trump administration proudly noted that they did not start any wars, but neither did they end any.

Second, new domestic issues will top the president’s national security agenda. National security is not just the traditional tasks of diplomacy, defense and intelligence; it consists of meeting all threats, foreign and domestic. Fixing our wounded economy, combatting domestic terrorism, working toward racial justice, and controlling climate change will demand the president’s attention as much, if not more than, the challenge of China or Russia.

Third, resources for national security will be at a premium. After four years of record defense spending, the Department of Defense (DOD) finds itself alone among the Cabinet departments as a relatively satisfied bureaucracy. It would be easy if we could just push more resources to disadvantaged entities, such as the Department of State and the strategic national stockpile, but there will be much less money to push anywhere. With high levels of federal spending, deficit spending generated by the Trump tax cuts, and pandemic-related expenditures, Trump’s presidency added nearly $8 trillion to the national debt. With more than $20 trillion in total debt, U.S. citizens pay nearly $600 billion of debt service every year.

Biden likely will be forced to ask the Pentagon to reduce its more than $700 billion budget request. Despite high operating tempo and growing great-power threats from Russia and China, the Pentagon may have to cut deeply — and even worse, rapidly. Services such as the Navy and the Space Force that were planning for budget increases will have to redesign their programs. Operations tempo likely will go down, procurement will be cut back, and all the services will have to shed manpower or transfer functions to the reserve components to try to preserve capabilities. 

As difficult as it will be, the United States is past due for a significant shift of resources and capabilities to meet the threat from China. Manpower, ships, planes and budget dollars need to move from DOD assets in the continental United States, Europe and Middle East to shore up diplomacy, deterrence and defense in the Indo-Pacific. Defense money also may migrate into countering the pandemic, domestic terrorism and cybersecurity. The United States may have to transform from physical presence in some partner nations to a “by-with-and through” partnership based on advisory efforts.

The problems of a shrinking Pentagon budget can be alleviated in part by reducing duplication. Redundant capabilities reduce risk and increase flexibility, but they add trillions of dollars to the cost of the defense establishment. Areas for potential reductions include more than 4,000 jet fighters and attack helicopters in the U.S. inventory. Drones can replace manned aircraft for many functions, a change that is under way. Further savings might be found between the Navy and the Coast Guard, as well as by putting bulk military capabilities, such as missiles, on civilian vessels. Marine and Army ground forces could shift units into the reserve components, but at some cost to readiness and availability. The Army could form reserve combat units that are partially manned with regular forces, giving them a potential mobilization advantage over National Guard formations.

Fourth, diplomacy must take the lead in national security affairs. In recent decades, America has led with its sword. Diplomacy can help to dampen competition, save money and help the armed forces to stand down or shift the locale of their activities. With China, Russia, Iran and North Korea there are many opportunities for diplomacy to lead the way. The State Department was underfunded in the Trump years and cannot get by on swagger alone. It must receive greater funding for diplomacy, development, arms control and security assistance.

The fifth key to “building back better” lies with our alliances. America’s network of allies and security partners is the cornerstone of its overseas national security policy. It is our greatest advantage over Russia and China, who have weak alliances. In the past four years, we have treated our allies crassly and mismanaged our decades-long relationships. We should drop the slogan of “America First,” which often created resentment of America. Our allies play a key role in collective defense and they can take up slack in other areas, including peacekeeping, regional presence and development assistance. Relatively new partnerships in the Middle East and India can expand our opportunities for collective action.

Rebuilding our national security strategy will not be cheap or easy. We face many obstacles, not the least of which are adversaries who will work hard to defeat our policies. Bureaucratic frictions and resource limitations will be intense. With dedicated leadership and interagency cooperation, we can create an effective policy to secure the nation against all adversaries, foreign and domestic.

Joseph J. Collins is a retired Army colonel and Department of Defense civilian. From 2001-2004, he was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations. For over 25 years, he taught strategy and international relations at West Point, the National War College, and Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program.