The United States is an empire in retreat. Throughout the 20th century, many of the greatest powers have literally disappeared from the map.

The Ottoman Empire, the Soviet Union, the British Empire, the French Republic, Germany, and the list goes on. The United States, however has managed to survive the fall of nations.

The 21st Century dawns and the age of American supremacy has begun to crack.

The rise of new powers such as China and Russia have begun to tip the world stage and shift power from the West to the East.

According to Fox News, the United States has been eclipsed by China in terms of world economic power.

This is the first time the United States has not been the largest economy since the days of President Grant, according to MarketWatch.com.

Since the 1870s, the United States has led the world in economic status. But now the United States is second to China.

Some may not concern themselves with the idea of an America that’s second, but it shows trouble ahead.

Some would argue that it is logical for China’s economy to be the biggest, considering that its population is the largest in the world

I fear that a nation that is hostile toward the United States has been handed too much economic power.

If hostilities arise between the United States and China, we may face one of our biggest threats since the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately, a bigger threat rises from inside the United States and not from the outside.

The United States has begun to decrease defense spending and, in return, the Defense Department has begun slashing our own army to pre-World War II levels.

According to Reuters, the Pentagon plans to reduce the size of our army to 450,000 soldiers and eliminate the tank-busting A-10 aircraft.

This is concerning. We are decreasing our military’s capabilities, while China and Russia continue to increase their capabilities.

According to The National Interest, by 2020, Russia plans to have a million active duty forces backed by 2,300 new tanks and 1,200 new helicopters and planes. President Vladimir Putin plans to modernize his military so it is at par with the United States’.

According to the Daily Signal, China plans to create a modern navy larger than the United States by 2020.

China has also studied our capabilities to project power through our aircraft carrier fleet.

China has developed missiles capable of sinking our aircraft carriers for only $10 million, which is significantly cheaper than the $13.5 billion cost of building the aircraft carrier itself.

The United States needs to begin to use its massive military to assert its dominance as a superpower. We may one day have a confrontation with either Russia, China, or both.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, China and Russia have begun military cooperation and major drills. Both are possible adversaries of the United States and they seem to know it.

There is a way the United States can work to reverse the outcome of war through military deterrent.

We cannot continue to decrease our military power in the dawn of a new cold war.

We need to increase spending in defense, cut our budget elsewhere, and work to convince our allies to do the same.

Our enemies are few and our allies are many, but our enemies’ militaries are massive in comparison.

The United States needs to convince our NATO and Pacific allies to increase the size and capability of their militaries.

Stronger ally connections will help us establish our power to China and Russia, which would reassert the United States’ power.

The United States may look like it is in retreat, but it’s not too late to reassert our dominance.