"U.S. Races to Accomplish Iran Mission Before Munitions Run Out" That is a headline on the current front page of the WSJ (link later). Reality has not been suspended. For years, I and others have been warning about the US not having the manufacturing capability to quickly 1/

replace its sophisticated munitions, including air defense missiles, as well as offensive weapons. 2/

"When the U.S. military’s top general laid out the risks to President Trump of launching a major and extended attack on Iran, one of the issues he flagged was America’s stockpile of munitions." 3/

"Now that is being put to the test, as the U.S. races to destroy Iran’s missile and drone force before it runs out of interceptors to fend off Tehran’s retaliation, current and former officials and analysts say." 4/

“One of the challenges is you can deplete these really quickly,” said Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center think tank who used to teach at the Air Command and Staff College. “We’re using them faster than we can replace them.” 5/

"A major concern for the Pentagon is to maintain a sufficient stock of interceptors for the Thaad, which U.S. forces also operate in South Korea and Guam, to deter North Korea and China." 6/

"The Pentagon is also racing to replenish stocks of Patriot and Standard Missile interceptors, which also take out aerial threats and are being used to defend against Iranian missiles and drones. Patriots take out lower-flying threats, while SM-3s can intercept ballistic missiles

"Air-defense interceptors aren’t the only munitions that are in short supply. The U.S. is also expending sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, widely known as TLAMs, and aircraft-launched weapons against Iranian targets." 8/

We've known for years that the US only had enough sophisticated weapons to last 3-4 weeks of intensive conflict with a near-peer power like China, and then its 4-6 years to replenish - because the Pentagon said that was the case. 9/

The US has been expending its supplies in Ukraine, against the Houthis, we went through a big part of our supply in the war last summer, and now we're racing through what's left again. This isn't rocket science, and we haven't solved the manufacturing issues yet. 10/

The risk is the US not having the missiles to fight a conflict for years to come - ignoring that risk doesn't make it go away. Here's the link: 11/ https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-races-to-accomplish-iran-mission-before-munitions-run-out-c014acbc…