Russia represents a short-term risk for the United States, while China represents a long-term one, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten said on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2021) Russia represents a short-term risk for the United States, while China represents a long-term one, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten said on Monday.
"Primary risk to this nation, the long-term risk [for the United States] is China, maybe the near-term risk is Russia and we have to make sure that we focus our attention on those," Hyten said at the National Defense Industrial Association's Emerging Technologies Institute.
Speaking about the US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hyten said there is an understanding that the United States should not "ignore the threats" in the Middles East.
"But [we should] deal with these threats in the middle East in a different way, with a smaller footprint, so that we can divert more of our body on the threats in China and Russia," he said.
The US government has repeatedly named Russia and China on the list of threats to the United States.In May, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley announced that the United States would revise its leadership development program to study how China and Russia have changed their capabilities to wage war. This assessment is due to include developments made by China in almost every area of warfighting, as well as the threat posed by Russia's nuclear capabilities.
