Please answer one simple question. Which of the following does the United States currently possess? (A) An adequate intelligence service. (B) An adequate diplomatic corps. (C) An adequate military. (D) None of the above.

If you answered none of the above, you understand the problem. For the first time in a generation the United States faces a serious great power competitor. To put the preceding question more starkly, are we adequately prepared to anticipate, deter and, if necessary, win a war with China?

We have 18 intelligence agencies and departments all coordinated by the director of national intelligence (DNI). They collect a wide range of human, signals, open source and geospatial intelligence. They have combined annual budgets of over $75 billion. Yet we continue to be surprised when the Russians invade Ukraine, and the Taliban take Kabul. Just a week before the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Middle East was calmer than it had been in two decades.. Something is wrong.