Before U.S. President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran in late February, military experts were warning his administration that taking on the Iranian regime would be a very heavy lift — as Iran is a larger country than Iraq, where a war proved to be much more complicated than George W. Bush Administration officials said it would. Now, according to i Paper reporter Kieron Monks, the U.S. military is facing a weapons deficit that could prove dangerous to the United States from a national security standpoint.
Monks, in the UK-based i Paper, reports, "The Iran war has depleted America's weapons stockpile, leaving Donald Trump vulnerable and constraining his ability to resume hostilities, military analysts say. The majority of Iran's missiles and launchers, meanwhile, are believed to remain intact. Research from U.S. military think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that many of the most advanced offensive and defensive munitions in the U.S. arsenal were burned through during six weeks of high intensity warfare, which could leave the Pentagon short in future conflicts."
One of the military experts who co-authored the CSIS study was former U.S. Army Col. Mark Cancian, who says that the shortage of crucial weapons could be a "factor" in whether or not Trump resumes bombing if Iran.
Cancian warned, "I think it would be a factor because of concerns regarding future conflicts, particularly China and the Western Pacific. We could continue operations if the fighting restarted (with Iran), but one area I think would be a particular concern, where the U.S. might actually run out is THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense)."
According to former U.S. Defense Department official Michael Mulroy, "We essentially manufacture for peacetime activities. That has to change. Our adversaries are watching."
