Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to once again have the opportunity to provide the Committee my views on the global threats and challenges confronting our nation over the next two decades. As we have witnessed during the past year – with the continuing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction highlighted by the nuclear detonations in India and Pakistan … heightened tensions along the line of control in Kashmir … disorder in Indonesia … terrorist bombings of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania … North Korean and Iranian progress in developing longer-range missiles … intense ethnic conflict, particularly in the Balkans and Central Africa … internal uncertainty and economic crisis in Russia … the devastating impact of Hurricane Mitch in Central America … narcotics trafficking and its corrosive effects on governance in Colombia and surrounding countries … Iraq’s continued belligerence … and growing concern with the direction North Korea is taking – the international security environment remains volatile, complex, and difficult.