Gallagher at Reagan National Defense Forum: 'We're Sleepwalking Into A Disaster'

On Saturday, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) attended the Reagan National Defense Forum where he joined Admiral Michael M. Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, Dr. Alex Karp, Co-Founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, General Paul Nakasone, Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, Director of the National Security Agency, and Chief of the Central Security Service, and Moderator Julian Barnes of The New York Times to discuss U.S. Cyber Capabilities and the Future of Warfare in the digital age. Read highlights of Rep. Gallagher's remarks below or watch the full conversation here.

On the need for America's private and public sectors to prepare for war with China:

"I just fear we're not attacking this with a sense of urgency. I fear we're sleepwalking into a disaster that could define the course of the 21st century. And I feel like unless we change course, that we're going to lose World War III before it begins either through preemptive surrender or battlefield defeat...I just think the ultimate choice that a lot of American companies are going to have to make is between whether they want to do business with the US government and the defense industry, in particular, or whether they want to do business with a genocidal communist regime. That as a mere matter of fiduciary responsibility is a massive, massive risk for them. Other than that, I'm an optimist."

On what a CCP disinformation campaign may look like in a Taiwan scenario:

"What's interesting is that China may not need friends to be successful in a Taiwan scenario, particularly if they creatively leverage disinformation. You can imagine a disinformation campaign aimed primarily at Taiwan itself, or the Taiwan military. You can imagine a flood of fake or synthetic reports designed to confuse and disorient, or fake chat over military communications. Think of the ways in which they can leverage new technology-deep fake technology. You could imagine a video of President Tsai surrendering before it even happens...If that was amplified by a disinformation campaign online or by American social media companies pushing the narratives that this was all because of a provocation by Taiwan, or PLA forces are being hailed as liberators. Well, they could confuse us long enough to be successful in a fait accompli."

On developing the next generation of cyber experts:

"Having spent a couple years on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, attempting to sort of think about cyber issues, ultimately, I think it's still a fundamentally human problem. Both our biggest failures are human failures, and our success will ultimately be a function of whether we can convince the best and the brightest to work with our defense leaders to solve some very difficult issues. And as Brad Smith alluded to in the first panel today, we're not where we need to be. But ultimately, I still believe that we have a lot of very talented, smart patriots in this country that want us to win, that believe deep down that we're still the good guys. And that's absolutely true."