Dictatorial regimes are subjecting the democratic West to two spectacles of weakness: the seeming inability to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine and to counter China’s aggression in the South China Sea. In both cases, a failure to respond will only invite a greater challenge and the specter of war.

While the Obama administration and our NATO allies are still struggling to begin to comprehend the stark reordering of national priorities and strategic relations with Russia required to deter Vladimir Putin’s ethno-imperialist ambitions, deterring China today may be as simple as giving a long-standing ally four helicopters.

If the United States is to be serious about deterring Mr. Putin, then it must place a far higher priority on funding sufficient U.S. force levels, especially nuclear force levels, while investing more vigorously in future military technologies. With the Cold War barely a generation past, it will not be too difficult for President Obama or his successor to justify such a shift in priorities.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/11/fisher-shades-of-berlin-in-the-south-china-sea/