Elbridge Colby Featured in the Hindustan Times

And finally, the US-Russia rupture has shifted focus to Europe from Indo-Pacific. Observers such as Elbridge A Colby, a former Pentagon official who played a key role in drafting the US national defence strategy in 2018, have been warning that the US has a deficit in terms of its capabilities to fight on two fronts, and must force European countries to take on more responsibilities even as it focuses on Indo-Pacific.

Others cite the example of Iraq and Afghanistan, where entry into the former distracted US from the latter back in 2003, to suggest that American capabilities to focus on two fronts are limited. While it would be a mistake to underestimate US capabilities or discount the hostile mood that now exists against China across the political aisle in Washington, for now, the diversion from the Indo-Pacific will suit China just fine.