While data integrity and supply-chain security may not sound as tantalizing as building the algorithm that develops biotronic robots, it may be even more important. If we don’t secure the data we use to propel our AI revolution, we are building an AI capacity for the adversary.
For example, the United States could consider punitive fines or sanctions against Chinese banks, companies, and individuals complicit in direct and unwarranted boycotts on South Korean firms and industries. As regional opponents such as North Korea and China continue to undermine Alliance interests, it is imperative that Washington and its allies remain united to deter common adversaries.
Given Iran’s dangerous missile use and expanding capabilities, policymakers should seek to sanction Iran’s domestic missile supply chain and foreign nodes for procurement. At the same time, the United States should expedite and deepen cooperation with key partners such as Israel to expeditiously field more effective cruise missile defense systems to protect both forward deployed American troops and the U.S. homeland.
The leaders in Tehran are not impressed with diplomatic pronouncements alone. The deployment of the Lincoln CSG helps empower diplomacy, backing words with action.
The new U.S. demands on South Korea are a radical departure from past practice. The United States must answer critical questions about the importance of its interests in Northeast Asia and whether it would withdraw forces from the Korean Peninsula if its funding demands were not met. The answers to these questions will determine the relationship with all current and future allies. Is maximum funding of U.S. forces by the host nation the most important criteria for participating in an alliance? Or are the mutual interests of the alliance and the strategic interests of the United States the primary consideration? If it is determined that the United States is shifting to a transactional alliance system, we should expect a collapse of the U.S. alliance structure and the rise of conflict in multiple regions around the world. This round of SMA negotiations and the ones that will follow are thus of paramount importance to U.S. national security and the United States’ relations with its allies.