Russia is now the United States’ number one threat, followed by China, North Korea and Iran according to Ash Carter The Pentagon Chief made his remarks during a a Senate hearing on the DoD’s (Department of Defense) 2017 budget request. ISIS appeared at the very end of the Pentagon’s ‘priorities list’. The terrorist group was overtaken by China, Iran and North Korea who were all described as “aggressive” countries. RT reports: Challenges arising from the “great power competition” and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) still require a $583-billion military budget, Carter said at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on the 2017 defense budget request, according to a Pentagon press release. The first such challenge is in Europe, where we’re taking a strong and balanced approach to deter Russian aggression – we haven’t had to devote a significant portion of our defense investment to this possibility for 25 years, and while I wish it were otherwise, now we do,” Carter argued. The Russian Defense Ministry believes that calling Russia a primary threat has become a habit in Washington’s top circles, as it happens every year prior to debate on the Pentagon’s annual budget requests. “It is not a [...]