Opinion | China Is National Security Threat No. 1

Agreed, we can not lose our focus with other bad actors, but China has shown them selves to be one of those bad actors. They are aggressively claiming territory bordering their frontiers, persecuting various minorities, laying claim to waters claimed by and far closer to other countries, threatening countries like Japan and Taiwan, all the while plundering our businesses and universities for their gain. None of these are acts of a frenimy never mind a friend. Combine that with what we see in their "Silk Road" initiative etc, and there is no doubt that their ultimate goal is world domination, and they will not hesitate to use any means to achieve it. They are as dangerous, maybe even more dangerous to us and our allies right now as the USSR was in the 50s and 60s.

Unfortunately we live in a world that has become both more dangerous and more complex. When we were young, we essentially had one foe we needed to concentrate on, and that was the USSR. The PRC could be a pain at times, but they lacked the capacity to be a serious issue. Today we have to face China as well as Russia. We may not be at war with them, but like facing a large predator, we need to be alert and wary. Failure to do so could have dire consequences. That combined with the evolution of asymmetric warfare, and the proliferation of nuclear arms coupled with the very real questions of security and status of various weapons from the former USSR, we also have to keep an eye on every tin plate dictator as well as radical groups of all flavors.

It is said that the phrase "May you live in interesting times." is an ancient Chinese curse. Some say yes, some no, but regardless, it certainly applies to us today, and it's definitely not a good thing.