Eric S. Edelman is counselor at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and is a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Finland, and under secretary of defense for policy.
Gen. Lloyd Austin’s appointment is a milestone, but the political nature of his role runs counter to the apolitical ethos of the military.
The incoming administration will deal with strategic competition with Russia and China, emergent nuclear threats, and Islamist extremism.