Source: Wall Street Journal (free link).
The writer warns that the U.S. military industrial complex is not prepared to either deter or conduct a major war. The basic problem is that our weapons and ammunition are in short supply and our industry cannot produce the inventories we will need.
The warning sounds valid to me, but I wonder if the message will sink in where it should.
For me it is shocking to realize that my country — once the military-industrial wonder of the world — can’t even provide sustainment for a dinky little war like the one in Ukraine.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
Taiwan, being on an Island, and in range of land based aircraft, it would seem that our Naval and Air munitions, which have not been depleted by sending them to Ukraine, would be the most important.
If we get in a ground war with China on Taiwan, we lose. Our supply lines are just too long. So, it would seem that stopping them before landing is necessary.
How are we fixed for mines?
LikeLike
I can’t think of any good reason to go to war with China. Apart from that, our experiences in Afghanistan and Ukraine suggest it is in our long-term best interests to resolve our international conflicts politically.
LikeLike
I agree that war with China is a last resort, but the question is if we can do it if we have to.
LikeLike
WSJ’s writer seems to think we can do it, if only we prepare by investing in our military and especially the industry needed to sustain large-scale warfare. I don’t disagree, but I object to the way the issue is framed.
Should our military policies be based on requirements for attacking our adversaries, or on requirements for defending our own population?
LikeLike
“…attacking our adversaries…”
That was the Dick Cheney rule. If there was even a 1% chance that an adversary might attack, we launch a pre-emptive one. And that was a big driver of the Bush catastrophic foreign policy.
I would like to think that a war with China is just in trade, not rockets. Obviously an invasion would be almost impossible considering the demographics and geography.
LikeLiked by 3 people