SEC. MATTIS：Well， what －－ first of all， you＇ve got to accept the reality. You have to look －－ with reality of what the world looks like， and what are those challenges to our way of life.
There is nothing in here that presupposes war. The whole point －－ and you saw it well demonstrated with the NATO alliance. For how many years did NATO stand strong， all the democracies together from Europe and North America？ How long did we stand together？ And what was a Cold War never became a hot war on the plains of Europe.
So the point is， how do we create a military that is that compelling？ And what you have to do is you have to take the threats as they stand. You have to make certain you＇re integrated with the State Department＇s foreign policies， so we＇re operating with very much a depth to our State Department －－ not outside the State Department＇s foreign policy， but inside it.
And so it starts with me having breakfast every week with Secretary of State Tillerson. And we talk two， three times a day， sometimes. We settle all of our issues between he and I， and then we walk together into the White House meetings. That way， State and Defense are together.
And this allows us， as we look at a military that must adapt to its times， we also are in step with the foreign policy. You do not want to get detached from that and think that you＇re just going to automatically serve the needs of our country.
Then， when you get down to the discrete elements of military power， it＇s a much more straightforward process， to tell you the truth. You look at what capabilities other countries have. You look at what technology is bringing on board. You put it together. You prioritize， based on the threat analysis that is done both inside the Pentagon， but that is never enough； I want an outside view as well， and that＇s why we have a very close link with the CIA and foreign intelligence services.
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