U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance spoke directly with American military commanders in the spring and summer to obtain their unbiased assessments of the war with Iran. What he heard caused him serious concern about U.S. strategy and the state of weapons stockpiles, The New York Times reports, writes UNN.
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Commanders warned Vance that stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles were being depleted. In one theater of operations, fewer than 100 such missiles remained by the end of spring. The war also significantly reduced stocks of ATACMS and other precision munitions.
According to NYT sources, the military told Vance that stocks of a number of critically important munitions had fallen to their lowest level ever. Moving additional weapons to the Middle East could have weakened the U.S. ability to deter China, Russia, and North Korea.
Vance became concerned
After these conversations, Vance expressed concern about the prospects for success. The military also warned that Iran's authorities were prepared to endure significant losses in order to preserve the regime.
The private assessments differed markedly from the administration's public statements. Trump continued to claim that the United States had already won the war and that there were no problems with weapons stocks.