{"id":1965262,"date":"2023-07-06T03:24:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-06T07:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-decline-of-american-manufacturing-inevitably-means-an-empty-wartime-arsenal\/"},"modified":"2023-07-06T03:26:57","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T07:26:57","slug":"the-decline-of-american-manufacturing-inevitably-means-an-empty-wartime-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-decline-of-american-manufacturing-inevitably-means-an-empty-wartime-arsenal\/","title":{"rendered":"American manufacturing decline leads to empty wartime arsenal."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-decline-of-american-manufacturing-inevitably-means-an-empty-wartime-arsenal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1965262&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p><strong>It is hard to be the arsenal of democracy if you can\u2019t make anything anymore.<\/strong> The war in Ukraine has deranged many people \u2014 Michael Rubin, a lunatic and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aei.org\/op-eds\/can-biden-deter-a-russia-nuclear-attack-on-ukraine-yes-if-he-gives-ukraine-tactical-nukes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wants to give<\/a> Ukraine nukes \u2014 but it may also teach us some hard but necessary lessons. For instance, as the tides of war turn against Ukraine, it seems that globalist economics is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-decline-of-american-manufacturing-inevitably-means-an-empty-wartime-arsenal\/\" title=\"American manufacturing decline leads to empty wartime arsenal.\">defeating globalist foreign policy interventionism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>The Disappointing Summer Offensive<\/h2>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s much-hyped summer offensive has been disappointing. Or as The New York Times delicately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/02\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-counteroffensive.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">informed<\/a> its readers in a report on a minor Ukrainian victory, the assault is, \u201cmoving at a slower pace than expected\u201d and has shown that \u201cKyiv\u2019s and the Western allies\u2019 hopes for a quick victory were unrealistic \u2026 every mile of their drive into Russian-occupied territory would be grueling and contested.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-795425433\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4e73a1d8a3891b9b4927fac21ed95a73 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4e73a1d8a3891b9b4927fac21ed95a73\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>The War of Attrition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The war has become one of attrition, and regardless of our sympathies, this favors Russia. Foreign policy realist John Mearsheimer recently <a href=\"https:\/\/mearsheimer.substack.com\/p\/the-darkness-ahead-where-the-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">observed<\/a>, \u201cThe Russians have had the upper hand this year, mainly because they have a substantial advantage in artillery, which is the most important weapon in attrition warfare.\u201d For all of the billions in aid the West has sent to the Ukrainians, they are still short of munitions; they don\u2019t need F-16s and precision weapons nearly as much as they need a mountain of old-fashioned shells.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Munitions Shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There has been a steady <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/national-security\/ukraine-running-low-ammo-europe-faces-pressure-produce-rcna73231\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stream<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2023\/04\/08\/ukraine-ammunition-shortage-shells-ration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stories<\/a> warning that Ukraine\u2019s forces are low on munitions and <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6263802\/ukraine-west-ammunition-shortages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">outgunned<\/a> by their Russian enemies. Russia\u2019s rate of fire is perhaps 10 times that of Ukraine. Worse still, the United States and its allies are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/united-states-ukraine-running-low-ammo-war-1797432\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">depleting<\/a> their own supplies, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2023\/02\/24\/slow-arms-deliveries-to-taiwan-blamed-on-us-production-bottlenecks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">struggling<\/a> to provide weapons to other clients such as Taiwan. Though there is some overlap between the weapons systems that Ukraine and Taiwan each need, the fundamental problem is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-defense-priorities-following-ukraine-war\/\" title=\"American Defense Priorities After Ukraine War\">limited industrial capacity<\/a> of the United States.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Limits of Military Power<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-forges-closer-military-ties-to-russia\/\" title=\"China Forges Closer Military Ties to Russia\">advanced weapons systems<\/a> to the ordinary artillery shells that Ukraine needs by the thousands a day, America cannot produce enough to keep up with demand. And we lack the infrastructure and resources to quickly close the gap. The United States is unable to sustain its ambition of being the \u201carsenal of democracy,\u201d regardless of how enthusiastically supporters of Ukraine try to cast our aid to the Ukrainians in such terms. Meanwhile, Russia is in position to slowly grind out a victory and annex much of Eastern Ukraine. Yes, it will rule over rubble, but it will have won and inflicted a humiliating defeat on the West in the process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Consequences for America<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The course of the war may turn again, but we are learning a hard lesson about the limits of military power that cannot sustain its needs for weapons and materials. And those who are most supportive of giving Ukraine extravagant military aid are also those responsible for our inability to actually provide it. The Venn diagram of those who are most eager to give Ukraine lots of weapons is almost a perfect circle with those who have enthusiastically promoted globalization \u2014 and especially outsourcing our manufacturing to the Chinese communists.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-565e8ec9cc95b4fa168ae90e879b4a01 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-565e8ec9cc95b4fa168ae90e879b4a01\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>The Decline of American Manufacturing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, we still largely build our own weapons, but the general malaise of American manufacturing inevitably implicates the defense industry. It is not only that weapons manufacturing has consolidated, but that its supply chains are also bound up with globalization and offshoring.\u00a0 And lately, as with everything else, the materials and components needed for weapons and equipment may be stuck on a boat from China, if they\u2019re available at all.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, as American manufacturing has declined as a source of employment, so has the skilled labor pool that defense manufacturing needs to hire from. Thus, even if there were the will and the money to quickly spin up weapons manufacturing, the workers, as well as the infrastructure, would likely be lacking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Implications for National Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The U.S.\u2019s inability to sustain weapons manufacturing at wartime levels is bad news for Ukraine. However, that conflict is peripheral to American interests. Much worse for us could come from a war with China, presumably over Taiwan. The U.S. may still be ahead in technology and training, though that might not last much longer under the woke Pentagon, but as has been said, quantity has a quality of its own. If we cannot replace our losses, we will lose.<\/p>\n<p>Industrial policy is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hispanic-caucus-takes-aim-at-african-american-veterans-service-on-key-panel\/\" title=\"Hispanic Caucus Takes Aim at African-American Veteran\u2019s Service on Key Panel\">defense policy<\/a>. The ability to build is essential to our national defense, but our leaders have spent decades degrading our manufacturing capabilities and boosting that of our rising rival. This was done in the name of free trade, but trade with a communist regime is unfree by definition. And while genuinely free trade has benefits, it is the duty of our leaders to balance these advantages against other national interests, of which defense is the first.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a6d05aa9a9a7e76fa79f3856c29c23c5 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a6d05aa9a9a7e76fa79f3856c29c23c5\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>A Costly Lesson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We are being taught this lesson at the expense of Ukrainian lives. Hopefully, we learn it before it costs us American lives as well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6b8d3137cf2032c3b668b8eab4f5a443 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6b8d3137cf2032c3b668b8eab4f5a443\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being the arsenal of democracy becomes challenging when a country loses its manufacturing capabilities. The war in Ukraine has affected numerous individuals, including Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who suggests providing Ukraine with nuclear weapons. However, this situation can also offer valuable and essential lessons for us to learn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":538,"featured_media":1965263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1965262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/538"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1965262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1965262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1965263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1965262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1965262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1965262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}