Aka the pivot guy

No, for the last several years of the formal GWOT, the US military knew that their time there would be drawing to a close and starting touting preparations for a near peer conflict. While many assumed it was Russia they were referencing, it was actually China. For instance, the B-21 Raider was built specifically to solve the problem of having a strategic bomber that could hit the Chinese mainland without endangering carrier groups or putting air-air refueling tankers in danger.

Edit - in short, the boogeyman still exists, we’ll just change some details so he remains scary