National security risks are on the rise. Xi Jinping, China’s communist dictator, has been escalating threats against America. And China’s Foreign Minister has said that China’s aims of confrontation and conflict with the U.S. are inevitable. With repeated Chinese spy balloons gathering sensitive data and reports that China has been inserting military personnel into the U.S. via our southern border, we must take China’s escalating talk of war seriously.

George Washington, in his first annual address to Congress said, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” George Washington is 100% correct. The world’s bad actors and evildoers feel emboldened when they see that their adversaries are at a disadvantage or are unprepared.

Accordingly, it is critical that America make sure that it is prepared for a conflict with China — not because any sane person desires or seeks war, but because by being prepared and making it clear that we are strong, China’s interest in confrontation and conflict will decrease and peace and prosperity will be far more likely.

Along these lines, Ronald Reagan said, “History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. To keep the........

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