On Monday, NewsMax reported that in providing massive amounts of aid to Ukraine, America has seriously depleted its own weapons stockpiles.
The article reports:
President Joe Biden has used drawdowns – which allow the president to withdraw existing weapons, ammunitions, and material from existing U.S. military stocks to assist other nations – to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia.
A Bank of America Securities report obtained by Newsmax’s Logan Ratick said that presidential drawdowns have reduced U.S. weapons stockpiles to levels not seen in decades.
The report said the U.S. had committed nearly $8.4 billion through presidential drawdowns – more than half of the overall $16.2 in security aid – since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his unprovoked attack on Feb. 24.
“As the U.S. continues to provide security assistance to Ukraine, defense primes have been tasked with both meeting newfound demand throughout Europe and restocking U.S. inventories that have dwindled as a result of 20 presidential drawdowns since August 2021,” the report said.
Department of Defense officials have indicated that ammunition stocks with several ground systems have dwindled to levels that would be considered problematic during wartime, the report said.
The article also notes:
The report also said that doubt previously had been cast on some ground-based defense programs due to the DoD’s shift in focus to the Pacific – with concern about China – and away from ground conflicts in the Middle East.
In fact, Raytheon Technologies almost ended High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) production in 2021. However, efforts to ramp up the manufacturing of HIMARS now are being made.
The Pentagon said that roughly $1.2 billion in contracts already were being processed in order to replenish stockpiles, especially for Stinger missiles ($624 million), Javelin missiles ($352 million), and HIMARS systems ($33 million).
Keeping America safe should not be a political issue–it should be an issue that all Americans and their representatives in Congress are concerned about. When is Congress going to take a good look at the impact of what we are doing in Ukraine on the security of America and the American economy?