Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Just Completed: Global Threat Assessment — U.S. Strategic Posture Commissioners’ Report In October, the U.S. Congressional Strategic Posture Commission released its final report, “America’s Strategic Posture.” The bipartisan group of 12 former officials, appointed by Congress, assessed the international threats facing the United States, reviewing U.S. defense strategy and force structure, including nuclear weapons.  The report concludes that the United States now faces unprecedented threats, from authoritarian regimes that are building up their military forces and behaving aggressively towards their neighbors. Major concerns include the Chinese program to add 1,000 strategic nuclear weapons to their arsenal, Russian behavior in Ukraine and mutual support between Russia and China. The commissioners call for an “all of government” U.S. effort to combat these threats.  What are the greatest threats faced by the United States? How should they be addressed? What does this mean for the U.S. nuclear posture, for our