With a cautious lame-duck president in office, set to be replaced by an unpredictable successor who is more comfortable brandishing American power, will U.S. adversaries try to test Washington in the coming weeks?
Perhaps Iran will try to dash to a bomb before a new Trump administration puts a credible military option on the table and fully backs Israel’s right to defend itself. China might see this as a closing window of opportunity to coerce Taiwan. Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to escalate the war in Ukraine. Or maybe North Korea—which has already sent troops to assist Russia—will engage in provocations against the South.
With a cautious lame-duck president in office, set to be replaced by an unpredictable successor who is more comfortable brandishing American power, will U.S. adversaries try to test Washington in the coming weeks?
Perhaps Iran will try to dash to a bomb before a new Trump administration puts a credible military option on the table and fully backs Israel’s right to defend itself. China might see this as a closing window of opportunity to coerce Taiwan. Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to escalate the war in Ukraine. Or maybe North Korea—which has already sent troops to assist Russia—will engage in provocations against the South.
In an attempt to show adversaries that now is not the right time to test the United States, the U.S. Department of Defense was hard at work on election night. While the rest of us were attending watch parties, calculating the returns, or doomscrolling, a joint team of service members from the Air Force Global Strike Command and Navy launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with multiple targetable reentry vehicles from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, at 11:01 p.m. Pacific time on Nov. 5.
The test was scheduled years in advance, but it was intended to send a message. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command, said: “These tests are demonstrative of what Striker Airmen bring to the fight if called by the president.” He went on to state that the United States’ nuclear weapons are “the strategic backstop of our nation’s defense and defense of allies and partners.”
In other words, the United States retains the capability to impose staggering costs on any potential aggressor.
Americans may have been too busy to notice, but let us hope the signal registered in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang.
This post is part of FP’s live coverage with global updates and analysis throughout the U.S. election. Follow along here.
The post The Meaning of an Election Night U.S. Missile Test appeared first on Foreign Policy.
