The U.S. military has long prioritized being able to fight two wars simultaneously in different parts of the globe, similar to its efforts in the Pacific and European theaters during World War II.
But Alex Karp, CEO of the data-mining software company Palantir which is known for its work in defense and intelligence, warned that the U.S. may have to wage war in three different theaters in the future.
He told the New York Times that he thinks the U.S. will "very likely" find itself in a three-front war with China, Russia and Iran. As a result, he said the Pentagon should continue developing autonomous weapons at full speed, pointing to big mismatches in how far the U.S. would be willing to go while fighting a war compared to other countries.
"I think we’re in an age when nuclear deterrent is actually less effective because the West is very unlikely to use anything like a nuclear bomb, whereas our adversaries might," he added. "Where you have technological parity but moral disparity, the actual disparity is much greater than people think."
Karp continued: "In fact, given that we have parity technologically but we don’t have parity morally, they have a huge advantage."
He also said the military is very close to the threshold where "somewhat autonomous drones" that can kill become the most important weapons.
"You already see this in Ukraine," Karp noted.
Elsewhere in the sprawling Times profile, which also covered his personal life, business practices, and opinions on a range of people and issues, he urged Democrats to show more strength.
"Are we tough enough to scare our adversaries so we don’t go to war? Do the Chinese, Russians and Persians think we’re strong?" said Karp, who supported President Joe Biden and is now backing VP Kamala Harris in the election. "The president needs to tell them if you cross these lines, this is what we’re going to do, and you have to then enforce it."
Waging war on three fronts at once would likely require more troops, notwithstanding any increased reliance on drones or other autonomous weapons.
After years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military's size has dropped, while the Pentagon has turned more attention to the Pacific and a possible conflict with China.
While on a separate train of thought on race, class, and affirmative action, Karp told the Times he is also "pro draft."
"I think part of the reason we have a massive cleavage in our culture is, at the end of the day, by and large, only people who are middle- and working-class do all the fighting," he explained.
Representatives for Palantir didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Palantir has come under criticism for supporting Israel during its war with Hamas, and Karp previously has acknowledged some of his employees will keep quitting over that stance.
He told the Times he won't apologize for what he believes in and whom Palantir supports: "I’m not going to apologize for defending the U.S. government on the border, defending the Special Ops, bringing the people home. I’m not apologizing for giving our product to Ukraine or Israel or lots of other places."
