The United States sits inside its own self-made dungeon arguably tied to iron shackles with little sight of freedom forecasted. Our nation is in shambles economically, militarily, and politically. Many nation states have been sitting quietly watching our crippling country falter and one of those nations is the evil red dragon– China.

China does not just sit and watch however, they passively institute everything military philosopher Sun Tzu once strategized. They have continuously spied on the United States and assisted rogue regimes like North Korea, Pakistan, Burma/Myanmar, and even Iran with advanced military logistics ranging in night vision technology, nuclear secrets, and now possibly stealth technology.

It should be no surprise that the Pakistani government allowed China access to a very sophisticated and highly classified stealth air component used in the kill mission of Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan is in a current fear based mode knowing they may have lost all U.S. support in the region. The Jammu/Kashmir conflict remains questionable for Pakistan and China sits on its northern border–a neighbor that could better position Pakistan against their rival India.

The red dragon may be taking a play out of the old U.S. Cold War playbook through implementation of proxy wars–something Sun Tzu promoted. Utilizing spies and clandestine operatives for espionage tactics promoting instability around the globe continuously depletes U.S. military assets and our economy as a whole. China may not physically promote these proxy wars rather provide the needed military might to boost hopes and aspirations among our own enemies.

What China is fulfilling is nothing new. Numerous espionage activities against the United States have resulted in the past twenty years and the below are just four of many incidents since 2003:

The Chinese are good at the game they are playing. Many Chinese persons are culturally astute and dedicated to the Red Dragon no matter their citizenship. Many spies for China are U.S. citizens.

Very few politicians are taking the Chinese threat seriously. Luckily, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) understands the Chinese threat and vocalized his concerns just this past week. “Nation states are investing huge amounts of time, personnel and money to steal our data. We are not as prepared as we need to be.”

In the current game of Dungeons and Dragons, it is obvious who the dragon is. Hopefully, the shackles that keep us locked in our current dungeon will soon shatter. A second Cold War has begun and it’s not between the U.S. and Russia. How we play this war could determine our fate as a nation.

Kerry Patton is the Co-Founder of the National Security Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization pending 501c (3) status. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, focusing on intelligence and security interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. He is the author of “Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies” and the children’s book “American Patriotism.” You can follow him on Facebook