LINCOLN —As dominoes tumble to an unseen endpoint in Latin America, Nebraska leaders discussed the state's role in projecting U.S. power and what threats Nebraskans face in their own backyards. Gov. Jim Pillen, Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly and Adjutant General Craig Strong of the Nebraska National Guard presented a summary of the annual threat assessment from the state's Committee on Pacific Conflict in an Air National Guard hangar.

"This year we tried to make sure we made a focus on ag security, agriculture as a strategic infrastructure," Kelly said. "We heard from several witnesses in that regard. But we know that here in Nebraska, our defense starts with the 44 million acres of land that are in ag production." Nebraska ag land and who owns it has been the subject or recent legislation. The Foreign-Owned Real Estate National Security Act looked to tighten up restrictions on adversaries. State leaders also want to push Nebraska toward de-coupling with adversarial economies.

"Stop buying stuff made in China," Pillen said. "Stop buying it. Do business with your neighbors. Do business with Main Street, Nebraska." One of the committee's champions, Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, said the start of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War was a wake-up call for the state. "With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all of the investments we had, all of the trade arrangements that we had, immediately evaporated," Bostar said. Bostar said this committee, in part, is aimed at preventing that possibility in the future. Kelly referred to Nebraska as an "adversary-free zone."

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