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Elbridge Colby

Co-Founder and Principal


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Elbridge Colby is co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative, a policy initiative focused on developing strategies to prepare the United States for an era of sustained great power competition. He is the author of The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict (Yale University Press, 2021), which The Wall Street Journal selected as one of the top ten books of 2021.

Earlier in his career, Colby served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development from 2017-2018. In that role, he served as the lead official in the development and rollout of the Department’s preeminent strategic planning guidance, the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS). The 2018 NDS shifted the Department of Defense’s focus to the challenges to U.S. security interests posed first and foremost by China, followed by Russia; emphasized restoring the Joint Force’s warfighting edge against these major power competitors; and stressed the importance of clearly focusing on these priorities over lesser interests. Colby also served as the primary Defense Department representative in the development of the 2017 National Security Strategy.

Colby has also worked as the Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where he led the Center’s work on defense issues from 2018-2019, and earlier was a senior fellow at both CNAS and at CNA. Over the course of his career, he has also served in a variety of U.S. Government roles working on strategic forces, arms control, and intelligence reform matters, including serving with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003 and with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during its stand-up in 2005-2006. Colby has also served on the staff of a number of government commissions, including the 2014 National Defense Panel, the 2008-2009 Strategic Posture Commission, and the 2004-2005 President’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (or “Iraq WMD intelligence”) Commission.

Colby publishes widely both in the United States and abroad. In the United States, his articles have appeared in outlets such as Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Politico, and The National Interest. Abroad, he has published articles or been extensively interviewed in outlets such as Asahi ShimbunYomiuri ShimbunNikkei AsiaThe Hindustan TimesThe Economic Times, The AustralianThe Sydney Morning Herald, Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche ZeitungFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Welt, HandelsblattDie ZeitInternationale Politik, Le Monde, Le FigaroThe Financial Times, The SpectatorThe TelegraphThe New Statesman, SurvivalChosun Ilbo, Yonhap, JoongAng Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, The National Post, Corriere della Sera, La Stampa, Il FoglioThe Taipei TimesThe New Straits Times, The Manila Standard, PolitikenDagens Nyheter, Schweizer Monat, and Lidove Noviny. He also regularly appears on television on networks such as BBC, CBC, CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, DW, Fox News, Fox Business, NHK, and Sky News as well as on radio, podcast, and online programs in both the United States and abroad. He has testified a number of times before Congress and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Colby is a recipient of the Distinguished and Exceptional Public Service Awards from the Department of Defense and of the Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards from the Department of State. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Colby is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

Elbridge Colby: China is more dangerous than Russia

4/1/2023: UnHerd Podcast

Elbridge Colby and Lyle Goldstein on China’s Military Capabilities

3/14/2023:C-SPAN

Is Taiwan Next?: with Elbridge Colby

2/28/2023: The Realignment Podcast

For media and speaking inquiries, please click below:


For inquiries, please click below:

The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict

by Elbridge Colby

Elbridge A. Colby was the lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, the most significant revision of U.S. defense strategy in a generation. Here he lays out how America’s defense must change to address China’s growing power and ambition. Based firmly in the realist tradition but deeply engaged in current policy, this book offers a clear framework for what America’s goals in confronting China must be, how its military strategy must change, and how it must prioritize these goals over its lesser interests.

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Work

Meridian Summit 2024: Panel Discussion

Meridian International Center | "Securing an increasingly insecure world is more critical than ever in an era marked by escalating regional conflicts, shifting power dynamics, and emerging threats."....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Politico

Politico | “The trajectory for a sustainable, workable transatlantic alliance is very clear: Europe must take the lead in its own defense,” Colby said. “The United States cannot do everything and must focus on Asia sooner or later, ideally ASAP.”.......

Media Interview: The Spectator

The Spectator | "On this episode of Americano, Colby tells host Freddy Gray why the US should – and likely will – reduce its support to Ukraine and Europe, to focus on the increasing threat China poses over Taiwan. Europe, he says, can pick up the slack on its own continent.......

Media Interview: The New Statesman

The New Statesman | "Stripped to its core, Colby’s logic comes down to this: 'Asia’s more important than Europe, China is more formidable than Russia, and the other European states are much stronger relative to Russia than the Asian ones are relative to China..........

Media Interview: Jiyoon Kim’s Knowledge

김지윤의 지식 // Jiyoon Kim's Knowledge | 한국의 핵무장? 화제 주인공 엘브리지 콜비를 직접 만났습니다 | 엘브리지 콜비, 한미동맹, 외교안보 즐거움과 유익함이 가득가득, 김지윤의 지식 // South Korea’s nuclear armament? Meet the man who is at the center of attention: Elbridge Colby in person | Elbridge Colby, ROK-US alliance, foreign affairs and security....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Asia One

Asia One | "I think, at this point, it’s essentially undeniable that we’re not as focused on Asia as we need to be,” said Mr Elbridge Colby, a former senior Pentagon official during the Trump administration. .......

Media Interview: Chosun Ilbo

Chosun Ilbo | Elbridge Colby, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, who visited Korea to participate in the Asian Leadership Conference (ALC).....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Korea Times

The Korea Times | "In an interview with Yonhap News Agency Monday, Elbridge Colby, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during the Trump administration, also expressed his support for the swift transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul, saying the Asian ally should undertake 'overwhelming' responsibility for its own defense. ........

Media Interview: VOA Korea

VOA Korea | It was pointed out that we should not rely too much on the belief that the United States will protect Korea's security even at the expense of its own cities...........

Media Interview: Sky News

Sky News | Former Pentagon official Elbridge Colby joins "The World with Yalda Hakim" to discuss escalating tensions in the South China Sea. ........

Media Interview: NPR

NPR | NPR's Steve Inskeep, who's in Beijing, talks to national security policy expert Elbridge Colby, about the Biden administration's foreign policy strategy with China...........

Media Interview: Taiwan Talks

Taiwan Talks | Taiwan Talks speaks to Elbridge Colby, the principal and co-founder of the Marathon Initiative, a think tank focused on strategies to equip the U.S. for great power competition..........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Politico

Politico | “There is a lot of progress in U.S. relations with key Asian states. But the fact is that the progress at the concrete level of the military balance is well behind what is needed to match China’s aweing military buildup,” said Elbridge Colby,........

Media Interview: Washington Examiner

Washington Examiner | Among those sounding the alarm over the U.S.’s preparedness for military conflict in Asia is Elbridge Colby, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development and co-founder of the Marathon Initiative........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Newsweek

Newsweek |  Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development under ex-President Donald Trump's administration, took to X, formerly Twitter on Thursday, saying,.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Free Press

The Free Press | Elbridge Colby tells The Free Press: "The fact of the matter is that Russia under Vladimir Putin is a very dangerous state. It has embarked on an evil invasion of Ukraine............

Media Interview: DW Analysis

DW Analysis | Elbridge Colby, co-founder and principal of The Marathon Iniatitive & served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development from 2017-2018:...........

Media Interview: Sky News Australia

Sky News Australia | Former US deputy assistant secretary of defence Elbridge Colby says America needs a “combination” of a “forceful” response to the drone attack in Jordan.........

Media Interview: UnHerd

UnHerd | UnHerd's Freddie Sayers talks with Aris Roussinos, Elbridge Colby and Pippa Malmgren, about the possibility of World War III. Will 2024 be the year of a Third World War?...........

Chatham House “Where is US Policy Heading?”: Panel Discussion

Chatham House | Europeans are keen to understand the strategic debate in America about where US foreign policy is likely to head in the future. Elbridge Colby, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, discusses what US foreign policy should seek to achieve and what it should focus on..........

Media Interview: NHK Japan

NHK Japan | There are concerns that the coming Taiwan presidential election, along with disputes in the South China Sea, will increase US-China tensions. We will discuss the future of US-China relations in 2024............

Media Interview: Asahi

Asahi | “The presidential election of Taiwan will be held in January next year. Mr. Elbridge Colby, who was the deputy assistant deputy undersecretary of defense in the Trump administration, says that the security around the Taiwan Strait is a serious situation due to the impact of the war in Ukraine and the Middle East.”..........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia | “Japan's decision to ship Patriot missiles to the U.S. to help backfill stocks of air-defense systems for Ukraine has surprised analysts focusing on Indo-Pacific affairs…...

Media Interview: The Midrats Podcast

Midrats Podcast | "With a few exceptions on the sidelines by Japan and France, what has been clearly apparent in the last two months has been the absence of the International Community's..........

Media Interview: C-SPAN

C-SPAN | "Elbridge Colby talked about Senate efforts to approve additional funding for Ukraine and the implications of further assistance on other U.S. national security concerns."........

Media Interview: VOA Korea

VOA Korea | 진행: 조은정 / 대담: 마크 케네디 (Mark Kennedy, 윌 슨센터 '와바 전략경쟁' 연구소장), 엘브리지 콜비 (Elbridge Colby, 전 미국 국방부 전략군사 담당 부차 관보) // Hosted by: Cho Eun-jung / Interview with Mark Kennedy, director of the 'Waba Strategic Competition' Institute at the Wilson Center;a..........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The New York Times

The New York Times | "When Henry Kissinger popped up in an ornate meeting room in Beijing in July with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, the episode became the most vivid symbol of the former diplomat and business consultant’s ability through the decades to put himself next to centers of power.".........

Crisis & Chaos The Changing World Order: Keynote Chat

Crisis & Chaos: The Changing World Order | resenting Crisis & Chaos: The Changing World Order. This LIVE all-day online video event from Thursday, November 30, 2023, brought together some of the most prominent military, geopolitical and markets experts..........

Media Interview: NewsNation

NewsNation | Elbridge Colby joins ‘On Balance’ with Leland Vittert to discuss TikTok’s malign influence over America’s young people via disinformation; they also discuss the strategic implications of the APEC Summit....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in CBC News

CBC News | The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission cited escalating rhetoric from Xi; instructions to his military to be ready for combat; new conscription and reservist laws allowing faster mobilization....

Media Interview: CBC News

CBC News | The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco is the first face-to-face meeting in a year between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping amidst tensions between the two superpowers....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Free Press

The Free Press | “I think the most charitable explanation is that the administration is seeking to communicate directly to Xi Jinping that we are not looking to strangle them or suppress them. What Xi Jinping presumably wants to achieve in his visit is not actually speaking to Biden, but speaking to American businessmen.“..........

Media Interview: VOA Korea

VOA Korea | Former Defense Deputy Deputy Minister for Strategy and Power Development Elbridge Colby said that China will use its military power to pursue economic hegemony over Asian countries such as Korea...........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Australian

The Australian | Former US deputy assistant secretary of defence Elbridge Colby says the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK, and the US, in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines (AUKUS) is at risk of falling apart.........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in NewsNation

NewsNation | Elbridge Colby led off “On Balance” last night with a stark warning about a larger foreign policy crisis in the world, not just in the Middle East. Mike Allen’s morning note for Axiosechoed that, saying the United States government is “rattled.”..........

The gathering storm

Washington Examiner | “The threat from China has not dissipated in the slightest while our defense spending and industry remain basically status quo as threats multiply,” former Pentagon official Elbridge Colby wrote........

Media Interview: The Ingraham Show

The Laura Ingraham Show | Former Trump administration officials @ElbridgeColby and Christian Whiton reveal what’s really at stake in the Israel-Hamas war. Listen to the NEW episode of The Laura Ingraham Show, available only on @QuakeMedia:..........

Media Interview TVBS

TVBS (English) | Elbridge Colby is interviewed by TVBS (Taiwan) regarding America’s Strategy of Denial, the Ukraine War, and a stronger defense of Taiwan. ..........

World Events Are Not Going America’s Way

The Spectator | There is a foreign policy strategy to manage this much more dangerous era, one proceeding from a sober-minded focus on our core national interests and prioritizing dealing with our prime great power rival, China......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Chosun Ilbo

Chosun Ilbo | The United States is engaged in a 'global struggle' with China over the future of the world order,” said Elbridge Colby, a former deputy deputy deputy secretary of strategic power development.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Il Foglio

Il Foglio | China is the protagonist of the international system, not Russia,' says conservative Elbridge Colby // “La Cina è la protagonista del sistema internazionale, non la Russia”, dice il conservatore Elbridge Colby....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in VOA Korea

VOA Korea | Elbridge Colby, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic Forces, diagnosed to VOA on the 30th that China "views the US-Korea-Japan summit as part of a containment strategy against China.".......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The JoongAng

The JoongAng | Colby gave the meaning of "The camp David meeting made the framework of cooperation between the three countries by regularizing the talks of the ministers of foreign affairs, defense, industry, and finance, and institutionalizing regional security and high-tech cooperation.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Fokus

Fokus | The war in Ukraine benefits China's interests. The Russian-Chinese friendship pact poses a greater threat to the Western world than we realize. // Kriget i Ukraina gynnar Kinas intressen.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Spiegel

Spiegel | Republican adviser Elbridge Colby demands that Europeans bear the burden of the Ukraine war alone. The USA would need all the resources to prepare for a war with China.........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Hankook Ilbo

Hankoo Kilbo | ...former Deputy Assistant Secretary Colby pointed out that "militarily repelling Chinese provocations can deter North Korea, but conversely, deterring North Korea does not prevent Chinese aggression.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in NTV

NTV | Elbridge Colby, who was involved in the formulation of the strategy against China as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Trump administration, pointed out that the Biden administration's policy of "management of competition with China" will not work if China is seriously considering the invasion of Taiwan.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Manila Standard

Manila Standard | “Elbridge Colby, former US defense assistant secretary for strategy and force development, failed to specify what Xi and Duterte discussed at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Monday, but he described it as “misleading at best.””......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in ABS/CBN

ABS/CBN | Former US defense assistant secretary for strategy and force development Elbridge Colby told ANC that whatever Xi told Duterte during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Monday was "misleading at best.".......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in ANC

ANC | Elbridge Colby joins ANC to discuss the latest on relations between Manila and Washington, and responses to Beijing’s growing assertiveness.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Spectator

The Spectator | “Elbridge Colby, who developed the ‘National Defense Strategy’ in Trump’s first term, said it would be ‘ill-advised’ to let Ukraine join the alliance. Nato is strong enough. There isn’t much benefit......

Elbridge Colby Interview: Jewish Policy Center

Jewish Policy Center | Americans need to focus on China. We’re not just going to cut the Ukrainians off, but we have to get the Europeans to do what we’ve been trying to get the Europeans to do since Dwight Eisenhower......

The Threat of A US-China War Requires A US-Israel Reset

The Times of Israel | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to visit China later this year have drawn criticism from a number of quarters, but whether close allies are in favor of Israel visiting Beijing is the wrong lens for viewing US alliances in this renewed era of superpower rivalry......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Die Zeit

Die Zeit | Therefore the burden of helping Ukraine should shift to the Europeans. According to Colby they have not yet done enough ‘to both rearm themselves and arm Ukraine consistent with what strategic reality requires.’.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Hindustan Times

The Hindustan Times | As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to wind up his historic state visit to the United States. a former Pentagon official, Elbridge Colby, strongly batted for close cooperation between New Delhi and Washington against China - a common threat to both India and America.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted by CBC News

CBC | High-level dialogue is fine, said Elbridge Colby. But what's not fine, in his view, is the U.S. chasing after détente, on terms chosen by China. "I'm actually quite concerned," Colby told CBC News in an interview......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in the Washington Post

The Washington Post | Elbridge Colby, a senior defense official under President Donald Trump, said Biden’s comments Tuesday were insufficiently forceful. He cited a point in Biden’s remarks at the fundraiser when he said, “Don’t worry about China. I mean, worry about China, but don’t worry about China.”.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in NDTV

NDTV | Elbridge Colby, the co-founder of 'The Marathon Initiative', said his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York was "illuminating but also very inspiring."....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in VOA Korea

VOA Korea | While the provocative remarks of Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming are shaking up relations between Korea and China, former high-ranking US officials urged South Korea to respond firmly to China's 'poor diplomacy'.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Asahi

Asahi | However, at the "Asian Security Conference (Changri-La Dialogue)" held in Singapore on the 2nd to 4th, the U.M. and China insisted that "dialogue is necessary",.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in PNA

PNA | The Philippines is on the right track in building up its defense capabilities, a former Pentagon official said, citing its potential to contribute to peace and “blunt” potential aggressions in the region.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Die Welt

Die Welt | “Political adviser Elbridge Colby co-founded the Washington think tank ‘Marathon Initiative’ and worked under the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018 as deputy sub-secretary in the Pentagon....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Asahi Shimbun

The Asahi Shimbun | Elbridge Colby, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Trump administration, participated in the conference and felt a difference in the perception of the Ukraine issue between Western countries and the countries of the Global South, which consists of emerging and developing countries.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Politico EU

Politico EU | “In Colby’s view, the U.S. should have serious doubts about Europe’s ability to join painful economic sanctions against China in the event of war against Taiwan, which he said is currently the premise on which U.S. engagement with Europe is based.”...

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Asahi

Asahi | In response, Elbridge Colby, who was involved in the formulation of military strategy at the Pentagon of the Republican Trump administration, argued in the position of support suppression.'.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Washington Examiner

Washington Examiner | Elbridge Colby and Alex Velez-Green note the basic point in their Washington Post op-ed on Thursday. As they put it, "The fact is that both Ukraine and Taiwan need many of the same weapons, the United States only has limited quantities of those weapons in....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei

Nikkei Asia | Former Pentagon official Elbridge Colby called the port call "meaningless" in a recent webinar hosted by the Institute for Korean-American Studies." A ballistic missile submarine can launch a ...

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast

National Review: The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast | “On this week’s episode I talked to Elbridge Colby about Taiwan. Among the topics we discussed are why Taiwan matters more to the United States and the West more generally than, say, the Falkland Islands; whether Americans are prepared for an invasion of Taiwan....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Atlantic

The Atlantic | “The military balance between the U.S. and China in Asia is ‘very delicate and trending in an unfavorable direction in this decade for the U.S. and its allies,’ Elbridge Colby, a co-founder of the Marathon Initiative…”

Should US Prioritize Combating China or Russia?

Newsmax | “Former Deputy Defense Secretary Elbridge Colby, who was instrumental in writing the 2018 National Defense Strategy, contends that preparing for the inevitable war with China over Taiwan should take precedence over Ukraine…”.....

Panel: Aspen Ideas Festival 2023 – Elbridge Colby

The Aspen Institute | Elbridge A. Colby, Co-Founder and Principal of The Marathon Initiative; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Strategy and Force Development; author of “The Strategy of Denial”, will participate as a speaker at the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival, hosted by The Aspen Institute, a renowned, global nonprofit committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Washington Post

The Washington Post | “By a large margin the Republican primary vote seems very far from the GOP old guard on foreign policy,” Colby said in a statement to The Washington Post. “And the truth is that the voters’ views are actually closer to reality:......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in VOA

VOA | The Washington Declaration and the NCG are "useful and productive steps," according to Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Strategy and Force Development and the cofounder of The Marathon Initiative, a Washington-based institution focused on providing foreign and defense policy recommendations..... ....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in World Politics Review

World Politics Review | One argument, as captured well by former Trump administration Pentagon official Elbridge Colby, is that since China is the principal threat to the U.S. and seems poised to take increasingly more aggressive actions toward Taiwan,......

Elbridge Colby Featured in The Washington Examiner

Washington Examiner | The Hudson Institute think tank hosted a much-needed debate on Monday. The motion: "Winning in Ukraine is critically important for deterring a war in Taiwan." Hudson's President John Walters proposed the motion, with the Marathon Initiative's Elbridge Colby opposing......

Nixon National Energy Conference: Panel Discussion – Elbridge Colby

The Nixon Foundation | Elbridge Colby joined the Nixon National Energy Conference Panel Discussion on America’s 21st Century Energy Policy and explored the importance of developing a comprehensive energy plan that meets the multi-faceted challenges of today ranging from geopolitical implications to domestic infrastructure, permitting, clean energy technology and economic challenges/opportunities.....

Elbridge Colby Featured in Politico

Politico | For years, Colby has held that China is the principal threat abroad, and that the United States should focus on Asia to the near-exclusion of everywhere else — including Russia and Ukraine....

Elbridge Colby Featured in The New York Times

The New York Times | But some American foreign policy thinkers are skeptical that European nations would give robust military support to the United States in a conflict over Taiwan, or be willing to impose harsh economic sanctions on China..........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed in L’Obs

L’Obs | Why does such a prospect worry Americans so much? Why is the possible invasion of Taiwan, an island no larger than a French region and forty times less populated than China, its powerful neighbor, the worst nightmare of the leaders of the United States?..........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei

Nikkei | As the U.S. Congress shifts to confrontation with China across party lines, conservative hardliners in the opposition Republican Party are calling for a reduction in U.S. support for Ukraine.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in RealClear Defense

RealClear Defense | Colby notes that China’s strategic ambitions go “well beyond Taiwan,” and those ambitions are manifest in China’s military posture in the South China Sea and its acquiring of ports and bases in the Indian Ocean, Africa, and even Latin America........

Elbridge Colby Featured in Diplomatic Courier

Diplomatic Courier | Here, it is worth reading Krepinevich’s book in parallel with Elbridge Colby’s “The Strategy of Denial”. While some disagree with Colby’s analysis and conclusions, it is an articulation of a clear operational concept against which military planners can work and the services can acquire.,......

Elbridge Colby Featured in UnHerd

UnHerd | Since writing Donald Trump’s National Defense Strategy in 2018, Elbridge Colby has become one of the most influential conservative defence thinkers in America........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed by Sky News Australia

Sky News Australia | Former US deputy assistant secretary of defence Elbridge Colby says the AKUS deal for the US is “more heat than light” as the American system is not designed to work with aligns in creating technology and ammunition.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in National Review

National Review | Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and lead author of the Trump administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy Report, Elbridge Colby (Elbridge Colby) said in an interview with Voice of America that the U.S. and China are currently in a “zero-sum situation.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in VOA

VOA | Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and lead author of the Trump administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy Report, Elbridge Colby (Elbridge Colby) said in an interview with Voice of America that the U.S. and China are currently in a “zero-sum situation.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed by US Embassy – Tokyo

U.S. Embassy — Tokyo | Listen to former U.S. Department of Defense senior official Elbridge Colby and Japanese scholar Yuki Tatsumi discuss how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine impacts Japanese and American security interests, as well as the People’s Republic of China’s thinking on Taiwan......

Panel: CSIS – Elbridge Colby

CSIS | How are Chinese experts assessing U.S. deterrence strategy in the Indo-Pacific and in the Taiwan Strait? Please join the Interpret: China project and a panel of leading experts for a discussion of efforts by the United States and its allies and partners to deter Chinese aggression, drawing on insights from newly translated Chinese documents.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Free Press

The Free Press | Many on the right are not so much anti-war as they are China-focused. This includes Elbridge Colby, a deputy assistant secretary of defense under Trump and a leading advocate of channeling dollars and military assets away from the Middle East and Eastern Europe and toward East Asia.......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on The Realignment

The Realignment | Elbridge Colby, co-founder of The Marathon Initiative, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, and author of The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict, returns to The Realignment to follow up on last year's episode on Taiwan......

A Strategy of Denial for the Western Pacific

U.S. Naval Institute | China aspires to dominate the Indo-Pacific region—the impact of which would dramatically undermine Americans’ security, freedom, and prosperity. The only workable strategy is to deny China this goal. The naval services will play a central role.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Hub

The Hub | With a new mobilization announced by Russia to continue the war effort, Elbridge Colby, the former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of d for Strategy and Force Development, says he is less concerned about nuclear conflict than he was in recent months......

Panel: The Realignment Live – Elbridge Colby

The Realignment | Last week, Marshall and Saagar hosted The Realignment Live! in Washington, DC. Today's episode features multiple sessions including American Economic Liberties Project's Matt Stoller and American Affairs'....

Panel: Center for the National Interest – Elbridge Colby

Center for the National Interest | A suspected Chinese spy balloon has exacerbated tensions between America and China. Is conflict inevitable? Or can it be headed off? Do the two sides have more incentives, particularly in the economic realm, to cooperate than is often assumed?....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in National Review

National Review | Increasingly ubiquitous and must-read China hawk Elbridge Colby saw the opposite: “The fact that they sailed a balloon all the way over America doesn’t make China look weak. It’s a brazen move. Now we’re supposed to sweep it under the rug for the delusion of ‘cooperating while competing’?”....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Australian

The Australian | lbridge Colby, a China expert at the Marathon Initiative in Washington, said the document – entitled US Hegemony and its Perils – illustrated “a major part of what binds China and Russia so tightly together: a shared opposition to an American-dominated world”.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on SpectatorTV

SpectatorTV | On this week’s show, The Spectator's diary editor James Heale speaks to political editor Katy Balls and Scotland editor Alex Massie about Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, former Pentagon official Elbridge Colby and journalist Andrew...

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on ABC News

ABC News | 1950s-style paranoia about unidentified flying objects has gripped the US in recent weeks. The US military sent fighter jets to shoot four objects out of the sky, identifying one of them publicly as a Chinese surveillance balloon......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in RealClearPolitics

RealClearPolitics | “There is a high degree of consensus on China, but it is largely superficial so far,” said Elbridge Colby, a former assistant defense secretary in the previous administration, who is carefully optimistic about Gallagher’s committee. ........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed by ABC – RN Breakfast

ABC - RN Breakfast | US officials claim a Chinese-military backed program is behind the mysterious balloons spotted above North America. Elbridge Colby, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence during the Trump administration joined RN Breakfast to discuss........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Washington Examiner

Washington Examiner | Elbridge Colby, Pentagon lead for the 2018 National Defense Strategy and author of the acclaimed Strategy of Denial, is a little kinder to the Pentagon official. He told me that "Kahl is right that we should not panic.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed in Lidovky

Lidovky | The Chinese reconnaissance balloon certainly had espionage tasks, but in the first place it was a diplomatic provocation, believes the former head of armaments at the US Department of Defense Elbridge A. Colby.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in ARD

ARD | The security expert and author Elbridge Colby, formerly on the planning staff of the US Department of Defense, assesses the risk of war as follows: "There is a very realistic concern that there could be a war with China in this decade," Colby said in an ARD interview....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on KOA Colorado

KOA Colorado - 850 AM / 94.1 FM | "We'll discuss a Twitter thread from yesterday in which Bridge argues that US support for Ukraine poses serious challenges for our military readiness should there be an even moderately significant conflagration requiring our participation elsewhere in the world."...

Elbridge Colby Interviewed in The Washington Examiner

The Washington Examiner | Earlier in December, Elbridge Colby, principal at the Marathon Initiative and the primary architect of the widely lauded 2018 National Defense Strategy, sat down with me to discuss the situation in Taiwan and other related topics. See more of our interview in the video below......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed in VOA

VOA | Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense and lead author of the Trump administration's 2018 National Defense Strategy report, told VOA: "Counter-hegemonic alliances are forming, and in some On the one hand, it already exists .....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Spectator

The Spectator | For Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense and author of The Strategy of Denial — an influential work on the challenge of Chinese belligerence — the choice of Gallagher as committee chair is “a huge gain...

Tweet: S. Jaishankar and Elbridge Colby Dialogue

India-US Forum 2023 | @ElbridgeColby: It was a distinct and unique honor to be able to discuss key issues around the US-India relationship with @DrSJaishankar this morning during the opening session of the 6th @AnantaAspen India-US Forum.....

Lecture: Manohar Parrikar Institute – Elbridge Colby

Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses | The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) is organising a Talk by Mr Elbridge Colby, author of ‘The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Competition’....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Australian

The Australian | “Almost everything should be on the table with Australia, we need to make it far less complicated,” said Elbridge Colby, a former senior Trump administration defence official, pointing to a slew of arcane regulations that prevent advanced US defence technology being shared with Australia......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Hub – Canada

The Hub - Canada | “Canada’s new Indo-Pacific strategy represents an important step forward. It begins to bring Ottawa’s policies into line with the increasingly evident reality that China is an exceptionally powerful, ambitious, and aggressive state that needs to be dealt with as it is, not as we might wish it to be........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The New Yorker

The New Yorker | Some American officials and experts believe that China’s advantages will begin to wane later in the decade. A new generation of U.S. defense improvements is scheduled to come online, and America’s defense industrial base, now attenuated, will be revived—or so goes the hope.....

Elbridge Colby Featured in Bloomberg

Bloomberg | In part, no doubt, the consensus on China reflects a far-reaching reassessment of the global balance of power by the American political elite, based on their careful study of the subject....

Panel: The Grand Strategy Summit – Elbridge Colby

Richard Nixon Foundation | The Grand Strategy Summit will gather top government officials and leaders from diplomatic, economic, defense and media sectors to chart a path forward for the United States to "meet its responsibilities of leadership," tackle the tumultuous geopolitical challenges of our time and develop innovative strategies that promote America's national interest in the 21st century. ......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Dagens Nyheter

Dagens Nyheter | The fact that Sweden joins NATO does not mean that we can relax and rely on American military help. For the United States, the war in Ukraine is a distraction, says Republican Elbridge Colby, who served in the Pentagon under Trump....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Politiken

Politiken | It is only a few days ago that the US's former deputy defense minister under Donald Trump, the Republican Elbridge Colby, warned in Politiken that the US's involvement in Europe is on borrowed time.....

Elbridge Colby Featured in Politiken

Politiken | Europeans hate to listen to people like him: But Donald Trump's former deputy defense secretary Elbridge Colby warns Europeans not to think the US will defend them as fiercely as it did during the Cold War. Taiwan and Asia have become more important to the US than Ukraine and Europe....

Elbridge Colby Mentioned in Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs | Although none of the countries in AUKUS have publicly acknowledged any discussion of Japan’s inclusion in the alliance, some officials and former officials have expressed support for the move....

Panel: US Naval Institute – Elbridge Colby

U.S. Naval Institute | The U.S. Naval Institute gathered government, military, and academic leaders to discuss great power competition and the influences and factors that are shaping the Russian and Chinese worldviews. ....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Wedge Magazine (Japan)

Wedge Magazine (Japan) | China responded to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August with large-scale military exercises. What is the path that Japan should take as "Taiwan emergency" becomes more realistic? What is China's internal situation? ...

Panel: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, GWU – Elbridge Colby

Express UK | About the event: Taiwan is increasingly being tested by both military and economic security pressures from China. Beijing’s stepped-up manned and unmanned military activities and imposition of greater economic and military costs on other countries engaging in otherwise regular diplomatic.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Express

Express UK | Following Mr Blinken's comments, Elbridge Colby, co-founder and principal of US strategy group The Marathon Initiative, said Washington must react to China’s mobilisation in kind......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Australian

The Australian | “Why are we not on a national mobilisation footing? If we get in a war we will have to be, but by then it may be too late,” said Mr Colby on social media on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on CNBC

CNBC | The war in Ukraine and tensions with China have exacerbated a military supply chain that was already stretched thin. Can the defense industry adapt to the current climate of uncertain international politics?....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in USA Today

USA Today | But one longtime U.S. defense and intelligence official, Elbridge Colby, said Putin's longstanding preoccupation with building up Russia's nuclear capabilities, combined with his current predicament in Ukraine, "leads me to think that it is a serious possibility" that he could detonate some kind of nuclear device, most likely in a battlefield setting....

Why Protecting Taiwan Really Matters to the U.S.

TIME | Why is it worthwhile for Americans to defend Taiwan? In very concrete terms, what’s in it for us? At this point, there is widespread agreement among Americans that China is a major threat and that U.S. policy needs to address it. At the same time, though, most Americans are rightly opposed to the forever wars of the past two decades and skeptical of more military interventions....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Bloomberg

Bloomberg | “We can’t allow such a valuable equity to fall into Chinese hands, I think it would be nuts,” said Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official who helped write the Trump administration’s national defense strategy."......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed by The Spectator

The Spectator | Freddy Gray, The Spectator’s deputy editor, speaks to former Pentagon official, and the author of The Strategy of Denial, Elbridge Colby about the risk of nuclear war with Russia: ‘I’m very suspicious of the ability to control the escalation.’ – Elbridge Colby"......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia | Elbridge Colby, one of the respondents and author of "The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict," told Nikkei Asia that "Beijing will be willing to permanently accept the status quo if the alternative is humiliating failure."......

Building a Strategy for Escalation and War Termination

The Marathon Initiative | This paper examines the necessity for the United States to formulate a theory of success in a conflict over Taiwan that includes denial but also indicates how to favorably manage escalation – that is, achieving its strategic-political goals without, at a minimum, precipitating a massive attack on the United States..…......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Sky News Australia

Sky News Australia | Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Elbridge Colby says the “ship” of strategic ambiguity “has kind of sailed” after US President Joe Biden affirmed the US will defend Taiwan if China attacks......

Elbridge Colby Featured in Bloomberg

Bloomberg | In addition to the classified intelligence it will receive, the committee should be reading books like On China by Henry Kissinger; Destined for War: Can America and China Escape the Thucydides Trap by Graham Allison; China in Ten Words by Yu Hua; When China Rules the World: Second Edition by Martin Jacques;.......

Panel: Network 20/20 – Elbridge Colby

Network 20/20 | Join us for a conversation with Elbridge Colby, Co-founder and Principal of the Marathon Initiative; Author of The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict, and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense....

Elbridge Colby Featured in Responsible Statecraft

Responsible Statecraft | MIAMI — Where are national conservatives (mostly associated with the nationalist, populist movement) on China? There is no easy answer for that, though there seems to be a strong inclination towards Donald Trump’s approach before and during his presidency: don’t start any new wars, but if someone wants to start a fight, be ready to clobber them....

Panel: Foundation for the Defense of Democracies – Elbridge Colby

Foundation for the Defense of Democracies | To help illustrate why Taiwan matters and exactly what steps the U.S. must take to defend Taipei and counter Beijing, guest host Bradley Bowman — senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power — is joined by top experts RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery and Elbridge Colby.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia | "What the United States and Japan need India to do is to be as strong as possible in South Asia and effectively draw Chinese attention so that they have a major second-front problem," said Colby, the principal author of the 2018 National Defense Strategy under former President Donald Trump. ...

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Yomuiri

Yomuiri | Based on the failure of the Russian military, China is expected to aim to secure air superiority by completely destroying the air defense network with a large number of precision-guided missiles immediately after the start of the war with Taiwan....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed by Army Matters

Army Matters - Association of the United States Army | Most people believe it’s not a question of if China will invade Taiwan, but “when”. So can this be prevented? Host Joe Craig sits down with Elbridge Colby to discuss his 2021 book The Strategy of Denial: American Defense.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Moment of Truth

American Moment | In Today's episode of "Moment of Truth," Saurabh and Nick sit down with Elbridge Colby, Co-Founder and Principal of The Marathon Initiative and author of "The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict." .......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on CBC

CBC | Chinese troops will travel to eastern Russia to take part in military drills - along with at least 4 other countries' militaries. What does this signal to Western capitals?.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed for Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Macdonald-Laurier Institute | MLI Senior Fellow and Indo-Pacific Program Director Jonathan Berkshire Miller sat down with Elbridge Colby regarding his views on why the United States and its allies must shift their strategic posture to confront the threats posed by China......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera | “If the Chinese impose a full or partial blockade, the United States should work with like-minded countries in Asia and beyond to ensure that Taiwan is resupplied with adequate critical goods,” Elbridge Colby, a former high-ranking US defence official, told Al Jazeera....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Sky News Australia

Sky News Australia | Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Elbridge Colby says he's worried about the possibility of China striking "big and early in a pretty surprising way", as laid out by NSW Liberal Senator Jim Molan....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei

Nikkei Asia | The Fumio Kishida government is considering increasing defense spending at a pace that will not be able to counter the threat from China. Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, who is visiting Japan, said in an interview with the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 4th that the defense budget should immediately be tripled from the current level.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Asahi

Asahi | U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. The Chinese government has warned that Pelosi will take "strong countermeasures" if she visits Taiwan, which is expected to increase tensions between the United States and China.......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Hidden Forces

Hidden Forces | In Episode 261 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Elbridge Colby, co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative, an organization whose mission is to develop the diplomatic, military, and economic strategies that the United States will need to navigate a protracted era of great power competition.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted In Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia | Elbridge Colby, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, said that the situation over Taiwan is becoming increasingly dangerous and that Washington needs to be careful of the messages it sends......

Elbridge Colby Featured in Discourse Magazine

Discourse Magazine | In many minds, the U.S. should be thinking very specifically about how to counter China because China is equipping and girding itself specifically to defeat the U.S. and any coalition it might assemble....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Washington Post

The Washington Post | Elbridge Colby, a former national security official in the Trump administration, has warned for months against the United States overextending itself in Ukraine, while sleeping on the potential threat China may pose to Taiwan....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Japan Times

The Japan Times | Still, there is a limit to the appeal of public goods There is a real difference between “new friends” and making hard choices that risk doing real damage to national security. Countries will take what they’re offered but are likely to remain on the fence in a conflict. .....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia | Recent arguments for countering China through "denial" have been spearheaded by Elbridge Colby, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force planning and the lead architect of the Trump administration's 2018.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on The Spectator Podcast – The District

The Spectator Podcast — The District | Spectator Deputy Editor Oliver Wiseman is joined by Elbridge Colby, a senior Pentagon official during the Trump administration and the author of A Strategy of Denial, to discuss Biden’s foreign policy, the war in Ukraine and whether the US is doing enough to rise to the China threat......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Reuters

Reuters | With U.S. military and political capital soaked up by the war in Ukraine, Austin will be under pressure to convince China's rivals in Asia that they can rely on Washington.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia | Elbridge Colby, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, said that spending political capital to form an Asian NATO would distract America and its allies from preparing for the China challenge......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Bloomberg

Bloomberg | “The clear lesson is: Don’t rely on indirect international pressure. You’ve got to be able to defeat the adversary’s ability to take and hold the key territory of your state,” says Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official who was the lead architect of the Trump administration’s 2018 National Defense Strategy......

Elbridge Colby Featured in TIME

TIME | In these circumstances, as Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary for defense and the lead author of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, has argued, Washington must prepare to win a war with China—one which it cannot afford to lose—precisely in order to prevent that war from happening. .....

Elbridge Colby Featured in Nikkei Asia

Nikkei Asia | After the leaders of the Quad -- the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India -- met in Tokyo and distributed a joint statement on May 24, reporters quickly typed the terms "Russia" and "China" into the search function.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Taipei Times

Tapei Times | As for Washington’s commitment to Taiwan, “the morality of a foreign policy should be judged not by words or intent, but by how well it does that,” American Global Strategies senior adviser Elbridge Colby aptly said.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in the Financial Times

Financial Times | Elbridge Colby worked in the Pentagon as deputy assistant secretary of defence, helping to write the influential 2018 National Defense Strategy, which shifted US strategy away from a focus on terrorism and towards a new era of great-power competition........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Australian

The Australian | Former Trump administration Pentagon official Elbridge Colby, an expert of Indo-Pacific affairs and co-founder of the Marathon Initiative, said he hoped Australia didn’t change its foreign policy stance under Labor........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Breaking Points

Breaking Pointsl | Krystal and Saagar talk with foreign policy analyst Elbridge Colby about the Biden administration's policies towards Taiwan that are in the spotlight after Biden called for the military to defend the island nation.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Breaking Defense

Breaking Defense | [Camille Dawson, deputy assistant secretary at the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs]’s fellow panelist Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, was less sanguine........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Discourse Magazine

The New York Times | Two of the key lessons of the Russian-Ukraine war are the tremendous expenditure of the most high-technology ordnance to achieve any useful battlefield effect, and the vulnerability of even the most advanced ships, planes and tanks to enemy action......

Elbridge Colby Featured in the New York Times

The New York Times |Ross Douthat: I’ve been turning over these dilemmas since I moderated a recent panel at the Catholic University of America with three right-of-center foreign policy thinkers — Elbridge Colby, Rebeccah Heinrichs and Jakub Grygiel....

Panel: Institute for Human Ecology, Catholic University

Institute for Human Ecology, Catholic University | Russia’s invasion of Ukraine along with retaliatory Western sanctions has caused a reassessment of America’s foreign policy. Is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the end of the Pax Americana, or is the unified Western response a sign of resilient American strength?.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed by The Vandenberg Coalition

The Vandenberg Coalition | In part seven of our Future of Conservative Foreign Policy series, we talk with Elbridge Colby about areas of agreement and disagreement in the conservative foreign policy community and a range of policy issues, including China, Taiwan, Russia, and the defense budget.”.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed by The Hoover Institution

The Hoover Institution | Misha talks to Bridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense, about how to prevent China from taking over Taiwan, whether the Biden Administration is maintaining the Trump defense strategy, and why Taiwan is vital to US interests”.....

Elbridge Colby Quoted in RFA (Korea)

RFA (Korea) |Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy Elbridge Colby : ( Relating to North Korea ) We should not expect Chinese favor . There appears to be room for negotiations between the US and North Korea, unless North Korea wants to be completely turned into a Chinese tool...............

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Washington Post

The Washington Post | Elbridge Colby, a former defense official in the Trump administration, said that it’s a “really serious concern” what the trend line might be in keeping additional forces in Europe as a result of Russia’s invasion, considering the United States is “doing badly in terms of the military balance in Asia.”.............

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Seapower Magazine

Seapower Magazine | The U.S. Defense Department will continue to have a priority focus on China despite the global military community’s recent attention to the war in Ukraine, said Elbridge “Bridge” Colby, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, in a one-on-one April 4 discussion with U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Sean Salene..............

Elbridge Colby Interviewed in The Washington Post

The Washington Post | Six questions for … Elbridge Colby: We chatted with Colby, who served as a deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018, about what President Biden's gotten right and wrong in Ukraine. ............

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal | The point of a tactical nuclear strike to end a conventional conflict, based on doctrine known as “escalate to de-escalate,” is to change the rules on the battlefield while shifting the burden of escalation onto your opponent, said Elbridge Colby, co-founder of The Marathon Initiative, a policy initiative focused on great-power competition...........

Elbridge Colby Featured in Lidovky

Lidovky.CZ | „Ruská invaze ukázala omezené síly Moskvy, USA se musí zaměřit na Asii,“ říká v rozhovoru pro Lidovky.cz americký bezpečnostní analytik Elbridge A. Colby, jenž je spoluautorem dosud platné bezpečnostní strategie amerického ministerstva obrany z roku 2018...........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on The Realignment

The Realignment | For Day 13 of The Realignment's daily Ukraine coverage, Marshall spoke with return Realignment guest Elbridge Colby, co-founder of The Marathon Initiative, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, where he served as the lead official in the development of the 2018 National Defense Strategy..........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times | So U.S. officials have privately been pressing another lesson from Ukraine: The United States and other countries can help Taiwan defend itself, but only if the Taiwanese show that they are ready and willing to fight.........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Manila Bulletin

Manila Bulletin | “If China really wanted to reliably be able to coerce Manila, it would want the ability to use direct military force, and the reality is that China is going to have that ability,” said Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development of the US Department of Defense........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The Philippine Star

The Philippine Star | The Stratbase Institute recently organized a briefing with war expert and author, Elbridge Colby. Colby was the US Assistant Secretary of Defense responsible for defense strategies, armed forces development and analysis of war-related policies. Colby’s talk was a sobering wake-up call for us Filipinos........

Elbridge Colby Featured in The Manila Standard

The Manila Standard | Manhit cited these developments from a book recently launched by Stratbase ADRi titled, “The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict,” authored by Former US Department of Defense Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs

La Monde | For Elbridge Colby, former Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense (2017-2018), “a real defeat for Russia would leave Beijing quite isolated internationally”. Author of the book The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict (Yale University Press, 2021, untranslated), Elbridge Colby explains to Le Monde that, in his opinion, "the Chinese will support their Russian ally but will try to avoid paying an excessive price........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Le Monde

La Monde | For Elbridge Colby, former Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense (2017-2018), “a real defeat for Russia would leave Beijing quite isolated internationally”. Author of the book The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict (Yale University Press, 2021, untranslated), Elbridge Colby explains to Le Monde that, in his opinion, "the Chinese will support their Russian ally but will try to avoid paying an excessive price........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed in Ricochet

Ricochet | We jet eastward and then into the ether this week, unfortunately without our pal James Lileks who’s vacationing somewhere on planet Earth. Our first guide is Elbridge Colby, who explains why we better not sleep on the Pacific theater............

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Japan Times

Japan Times | Elbridge Colby, who helped write the Pentagon’s 2018 National Defense Strategy as deputy assistant defense secretary for strategy and force development, said the German move would also heap external pressure on Japan to spend more...........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Channel 4 News

Channel 4 News | After his meeting with fellow Western foreign ministers today in Brussels, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that President Putin could open a “Pandora’s box of trouble” for the entire world, adding that Nato did not seek conflict, but “if conflict comes to us, we are ready for it”..........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on the Proceedings Podcast

U.S. Naval Institute | Author Bridge Colby discusses the subject of his book "The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict." This content is made possible by the members of the U.S. Naval Institute. For additional details about the Naval Institute, visit: https://www.usni.org/join..........

Opinion: Putin has a huge advantage in the kind of nuclear weapon he would be most likely to use

The Washington Post | Wouldn’t Russia be deterred from crossing that line in Europe by the prospect of mutually assured destruction? Maybe, but the notion that Washington would escalate to strategic nuclear weapons in the absence of an imminent threat to the homeland “is just too extreme to be convincing and therefore unlikely to work” as a deterrent, conservative strategist Elbridge Colby wrote in Foreign Affairs in 2018.........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Conservative Conversations with ISI

Intercollegiate Studies Institute | Elbridge Colby, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development at the Department of Defense, discusses foreign policy fault lines on the right, America’s biggest adversaries today, and his thoughts on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Taiwan Security Review

Global Taiwan Institute | Hosted by GTI Senior Non-Resident Fellow Alex Gray—former Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council (NSC)—each episode of Taiwan Security Review will consist of fascinating discussions with the policy makers and experts who shape US-Taiwan relations......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in the Financial Times

Financial Times | Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here.....

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on The Hub

The Hub | Today’s episode of Hub Dialogues features American foreign and defence policy expert Elbridge Colby. He joins to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, why Europe must step up as a contributing partner in NATO, and why countering China should still be the main focus of American foreign policy.........

Japan should follow Germany’s lead on Ukraine

Nikkei Asia | Russia's abominable invasion of Ukraine is likely to be a hinge point in history. It surely must lay to rest the idea that history is over, that power politics and the possibility of major war are gone from the developed areas of the world.........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Hub Dialogues

The Hub Dialogues | This episode features Sean Speer in conversation with Elbridge Colby, author of the new book, The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power, on Russia's invasion into Ukraine........

Elbridge Colby Featured in the Hindustan Times

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........

Elbridge Colby Quoted in RealClearWire

RealClearWire | This week marks the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s visit to China, a dramatic presidential trip that normalized relations with the country as part of a larger effort to neutralize Soviet influence in China. Today, though, the Beijing-Moscow axis is tighter than it was during Nixon’s historic visit. “Their relationship seems to be about as close as it's ever been, going back to Stalin and Mao Zedong,” said Elbridge Colby, a deputy assistant secretary at the Defense Department during the Trump administration. “It's a very worrisome situation.”.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Politico

Politico | There are so many advantages to our preeminent position that we take for granted. In an essay titled “After Hegemony,” former Trump official Elbridge Colby notes some of them: “Think how the American-born internet supported Silicon Valley, and vice versa, leading to a World Wide Web governed by formal laws and informal norms almost entirely of American design........

Elbridge Colby Featured in Responsible Statecraft

Responsible Statecraft | The United States might be promising a tough response, but how far are they prepared to act over a conflict so many thousands of miles away? We’re joined by Elbridge Colby, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy at the Pentagon, and Constanze Stelzenmuller, a specialist in European-US relations at the Brookings Institution.......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on Channel 4 News

Channel 4 News | The United States might be promising a tough response, but how far are they prepared to act over a conflict so many thousands of miles away? We’re joined by Elbridge Colby, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy at the Pentagon, and Constanze Stelzenmuller, a specialist in European-US relations at the Brookings Institution.......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on CBC News

CBC News | Elbridge Colby, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, talks with the CBC's Aarti Pole ahead of President Biden's address. The President announced harsh new sanctions aimed at punishing Russia.......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed at The German Marshall Fund of the United States

German Marshall Fund of the United States | The German Marshall Fund of the United States is pleased to welcome Elbridge Colby to present and discuss his book, The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict. As lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, Colby outlines how Washington should recalibrate its defense in the face of Beijing’s growing power and ambition, putting particular emphasis on the goals that the United States should tackle and the interests it should prioritize.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in Asahi

Asahi | As the crisis of Russia's invasion of Ukraine increases, the US Biden administration will promote diplomatic efforts and increase the number of US troops in Europe........

Elbridge Colby Interviewed in Defense One

Defense One | Elbridge Colby, a panelist who helped write the 2018 National Defense Strategy as deputy assistant defense secretary for strategy and force development, said the Navy should talk far less about its role in safeguarding commerce and more about how it deters and fights wars.......

Elbridge Colby Featured in USNI News

USNI News | During an earlier panel at the conference, Elbridge Colby – who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during the Trump administration – mentioned the idea of a combined forces command with Japan as a way to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.......

Elbridge Colby Quoted in The New York Times

The New York Times | “We have to focus on China,” said Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official in the Trump administration. “The military situation in Asia is increasingly acute, and we’re way behind. Russia’s a secondary issue.”.......

Elbridge Colby quoted in Politico

Politico | ELBRIDGE COLBY, a former top Trump administration Pentagon official and longtime advocate for devoting most of America’s national security resources to the China challenge, called Bolton out for the piece........

Ukraine Is a Distraction From Taiwan

The Wall Street Journal | The U.S. can no longer afford to spread its military across the world. The reason is simple: an increasingly aggressive China, the most powerful state to rise in the international system since the U.S. itself. By some measures, China’s economy is now the world’s largest.......

Elbridge Colby Interviewed on WGN-10 Radio

WGN-10 Radio — Chicago | This week Paul goes behind the curtain with author and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategy and Force Development from 2017-2018 (under the Trump administration) Elbridge Colby......