Editorial: The New York Times

• China's President Xi Jinping has ordered his armed forces to be prepared to seize Taiwan by 2027.
• The Pentagon has produced an assessment showing how a conflict with China would likely play out.
• The report reveals an alarming Pentagon overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons.
• The US's ability to win a lengthy war has been in decline for decades.
• The Trump administation plans to increase defense spending in 2026 to more than $1 trillion.
• Military superiority of China in Asia and Russia's threat to Europe could endanger democracies everywhere.
• Small robotic weapons are changing warfare, threatening the expensive equipment of the past.
• Resistance to change within the Pentagon has been persistent over decades.
• The long-term transformation of the US military may require additional spending to rebuild our industrial base.
• Allies like Canada, Japan and Europe will need to contribute more toward military commitment.

Conclusion: Ultimately, stronger US national security depends less on massive new budgets than on wiser investments. The need for change is urgent, and the question is whether we will do so in time.

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