WW III just around the corner for the holidays .

[usabaker]

A wounded and isolated Russia remains dangerous. Russia’s illegal and unprovoked
invasion of Ukraine drew global condemnation and prompted Finland and Sweden to
join NATO. On the battlefield, however, Russia has demonstrated operational learning,
adapting technologically and tactically to Ukrainian innovations. Moscow, Beijing,
Tehran, and Pyongyang have strengthened their linkages and are actively targeting
the U.S., our Allies, and our partners in the information domain. Damage to undersea
pipelines and cables underscored how seabed infrastructure has become targetable.
Despite Black Sea losses, Russia’s fleets retain combat power in the High North and
Atlantic, Mediterranean, Baltic, and North Pacific. The Kremlin also holds the world’s
largest nuclear stockpile. We must continue to support credible deterrence alongside
Allies and partners in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Highly interconnected threats make peace brittle. Hamas’s 2023 assault on Israel
required a Navy presence across the Middle East to deter attacks by other Iranian proxies
and reduce the risk of a wider conflict. Emboldened by Hamas and armed by Iran, Houthi
forces target merchant shipping along the Bab al-Mandeb, a key chokepoint in the Red
Sea, exposing our Sailors to the most persistent hostile fire we have faced since World
War II. Iran, which is also supplying arms to Russia, further launched hundreds of drones
and missiles at Israel, bringing the entire region to the verge of war. These events prove
how quickly the security environment can shift through seen and unseen linkages, and
how essential our Navy is to providing flexible response options to our Nation’s
decision-makers.