Apologies to Paula Cole and her wonderful song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”, but I needed a vibrant headline, so I ripped off her lyric. The point here is that, as many of us suspected, President Trump expended so many weapons in the counterproductive Iran offensive that the warehouses are just about empty.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a meeting of munitions manufacturers and suppliers is set for Wednesday at the White House, with Trump set to make an urgent appeal for resupplying the nation’s arsenal of offensive and defensive weapons, including Patriot interceptors and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
I personally figured that the first Iranian ceasefire, back in April, was largely a response to fears that weapons were running short. I think I noted then that it would be a perfect time for China to invade Taiwan — not that I’m recommending that course of action, just expressing a huge fear for Taiwanese independence.
The problem with Trump’s planned urgent request is that Congress has yet to authorize funding. No money, no guns, hon!
A Pentagon spokesperson said not to worry, for the U.S. has a “deep arsenal.” Trump, however, has requested a $1.5 trillion defense budget for the coming fiscal year, but that has not been acted on by Congress. In addition, a reconciliation bill that would fund munitions production is also stalled.
