Why Does Taiwan Matter to the U.S.?
The Pentagon’s top policymaker, Colin Kahl, details why the island is consequential to U.S. national security strategy.
Taiwan is a long way from the United States, yet successive U.S. administrations have made clear that protecting Taiwan from a potential Chinese incursion is a significant priority. Ever wonder why? Is it just about preserving democracy? In a conversation with FP’s Ravi Agrawal on FP Live, one of U.S. President Joe Biden’s senior-most policymakers and an architect of the U.S. National Defense Strategy, Colin Kahl, answers this question. You can watch in the video box above.
Taiwan is a long way from the United States, yet successive U.S. administrations have made clear that protecting Taiwan from a potential Chinese incursion is a significant priority. Ever wonder why? Is it just about preserving democracy? In a conversation with FP’s Ravi Agrawal on FP Live, one of U.S. President Joe Biden’s senior-most policymakers and an architect of the U.S. National Defense Strategy, Colin Kahl, answers this question. You can watch in the video box above.
Kahl is the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy and served as a deputy assistant to former President Barack Obama. If you want to hear more from this interview—about why China isn’t answering the phone when Washington calls, the reason the United States is “not in a great place” when it comes to deterring Iran, or the Pentagon’s plans to introduce changes to ensure that intelligence leaks never happen again—read an edited transcript of the conversation.
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Colin Kahl on America’s Defense Strategy
How does Washington plan to deal with China? How does it prioritize this alongside more pressing immediate concerns, not least with Russia’s war in Ukraine, but also regarding North Korea, Iran, and beyond? Colin Kahl is the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy and one of the Biden administration's senior-most policymakers. He has in the past served as a deputy assistant to President Barack Obama, and between 2014 and 2017 served as Vice President Joe Biden’s national security advisor.
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