By and large, only immigrants can deliver true native language ability and deep cultural understanding. Those with such skills have been in high demand in recent decades. Many have left normal American lives to answer the call. They often have deployed to the world’s most dangerous war zones to serve as contractors alongside U.S. troops and intelligence officers. And a number of them have been killed or wounded.

As the United States now confronts the prospect of a multi-faceted and quite possibly generational competition with China—underscored not only by recent Trump Administration public statements but also by the clear emergence of bipartisan support for a firm posture against certain Chinese practices—it is essential that U.S. policymakers take steps to ensure our approach is as coherent and comprehensive as possible. (As we make this point, we offer our hope that the relationship between the U.S. and China, unquestionably the most important in the world, can evolve into one that is mutually beneficial and avoids confrontation.

Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, the world is once again polarized between two competing visions for how to organize society. On one side are countries such as the United States, which are founded on respect for the inviolable rights of the individual and governed by rule of law. On the other side are countries where state power is concentrated in the hands of a single person or clique, accountable only to itself and oiled by corruption.

Our grab-bag approach isn’t working. Gen. David Petraeus says it’s time to go big.

The Art of War has rightly become one of the world’s most influential books on military strategy. Written well over two thousand years ago in China, but not translated into English until the beginning of the twentieth century, it is now studied in military academies around the globe. Indeed, its relevance has been reconfirmed in the twenty-first century.

Those of us who have served in the armed forces of the United States or Britain know that we share a broadly common outlook. There is general consensus on the global challenges before us – and an appreciation that there are no purely military, diplomatic or economic solutions to those challenges.

General David Petraeus (retired), who was head of the CIA from 2010 to 2011, commanded the US-led multinational force in Iraq from 2007 to 2008 and the coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011, besides being head of US military’s Central Command from 2008 to 2010. Currently a partner in a New York investment firm, KKR, he was in India recently.

Most employers recognize that hiring veterans is not just the right thing to do, it’s good for business. Veterans bring to their firms extraordinary experiences in challenging endeavors. Those who have worn the uniform know what it’s like to perform difficult missions—often literally under fire—against determined, frequently barbaric enemies in the most challenging terrain and weather conditions imaginable. Business leaders know that veterans have learned teamwork, discipline, initiative and adaptability in the face of unexpected circumstances. Veterans can be counted on to lead, direct, inspire and organize those for whom they are responsible.

The terrorist attack on the London Underground involving an explosive device that can be built from instructions available online underlined once again the scale of the challenges we face from Islamist extremists. Attention has already focused on the possible role of the internet in radicalising the perpetrator(s). Unfortunately, extremist activity in cyberspace has become an increasing issue in recent years.