Ladies and gentlemen， we have no room for complacency， and history makes clear that America has no preordained right to victory on the battlefield. Simply， we must be the best if the values that grew out of the Enlightenment are to survive.
It is incumbent upon us to field a more lethal force if our nation is to retain the ability to defend ourselves and what we stand for. The defense strategy＇s three primary lines of effort will restore our comparative military advantage.
We＇re going to build a more lethal force. We will strengthen our traditional alliances and building new partnerships with other nations. And at the same time we＇ll reform our department＇s business practices for performance and affordability.
In doing this， we will earn the trust of the American people and Congress， if their defense dollars are well spent.
But let me go through each of the lines of effort. And I want to start with lethality， because everything we do in the department must contribute to the lethality of our military.
The paradox of war is that an enemy will attack any perceived weakness. So we in America cannot adopt a single preclusive form of warfare. Rather we must be able to fight across the spectrum of conflict.
This means that the size and the composition of our force matters. The nation must field sufficient capable forces to deter conflict. And if deterrence fails， we must win.
We will modernize key capabilities， recognizing we cannot expect success fighting tomorrow＇s conflicts with yesterday＇s weapons or equipment. Investments in space and cyberspace， nuclear deterrent forces， missile defense， advanced autonomous systems， and resilient and agile logistics will provide our high－quality troops what they need to win.
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