Russia is positioned to quickly defeat forward-deployed U.S. and NATO forces and grab land before reinforcements could arrive, according to a new paper from the Atlantic Council, an international affairs think tank.

Russia is reportedly challenging the U.S. military presence in Syria by testing new weapons, bolstering defenses and increasing the presence of troops near facilities operated by the Pentagon.

Analysts from the Congressional Budget Office say the government could trim hundreds of billions from the federal deficit by enacting a host of already discussed military and veterans program reforms.

They are among America’s most elite military fighters, but a string of recent high-profile scandals and abuse allegations — including drug-smuggling, detainee abuse and murder — has put the U.S. special operations forces under unprecedented scrutiny, prompting a commandwide soul-searching.

The Kremlin shrugged off a U.S. call for it to scrap a nuclear-capable missile on Friday, saying it was in compliance with the Cold-War era arms control treaty Washington accuses the missile of violating.