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Question:

Ever since the American Civil War, industrial capacity has been the engine behind US military might.  While the South might have out-soldiered the North, the North out-produced them.  WWII was won by American industry, that supplied both its own and the Soviet armies. World War II was American power at its peak.  German prisoners being transported by train to POW camps stared out at the industrial plants as they passed and asked themselves:  How could we have ever challenged such a nation with such productive capacity? But follow the same route now, and everywhere you will see ruin: derelict plants, abandoned factories, rusting scrap heaps.  The region that used to be the heart of American power is now called the Rust Belt.  The muscle of American industry has atrophied.  The forces of globalization have rotted it away.  Manufacturing is no longer the engine of the nation’s economy, and as industrial capacity declines, so does our military capacity. For the first time since America emerged as a first-rank war and industrial power in the 1890s, some U.S. military planners openly doubt the country’s manufacturers can sustain the nation in a major war larger than the Iraq conflict. "What kind of superpower are you if you can’t make what you need?” asked systems engineer Sheila Ronis, a lecturer at the Pentagon’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces. The decline of the Detroit auto industry and the rise of industrial China have decimated a supporting cast of die, machine, mold and tooling shops, a metalworks industry centered in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. For the same reason imported chairs, televisions and clothes fill American homes, imported parts appear in increasing volumes in military hardware. Imports cost less than homemade. While no one is sure how many imported parts are used in weapons systems, a growing chorus of researchers and trade groups express concern. They warn the rise of imports and the demise of the metalworks trades threaten the nation’s manufacturing base. http://www.indystar.com/… Increasingly, the only plants that survive are those that are subsidized by government conracts, insulated from the market forces that drive consumer-based manufacturing either into bankruptcy or overseas.  But how much of the supply chain, the necessary parts, the raw materials, is still produced in this country?  What if it were cut off? The United States is increasingly senescent, a declining, dying power holding onto its empire only by force.  But even this is almost beyond us.  Compared to WWII, the Iraq War is a minor effort, yet it has all but exhausted US military capacity, both human and material.  How far we have fallen, how weak we have become. when the bushies and corporate profiteers started looking for cheaper product and higher profits, american interests were not of concern. this country (translate: politicians) has allowed the massive selloff of our industries, we lost the ability to be self sufficient. we need to stress that the failed policies of the reagan, bush pere and bush fil admins to turn america into a "service" economy (at the enrichment of their corporate donors) has made america extremely vulnerable and incapable of self-sustenance. we are not only incapable of making anything now, we are incapable of meeting our nation’s needs in the future, as the "corporate bankruptcies" have allowed the sell-off of the industrial infrastructure to the nations taking over those activities. when pillowtex (formerly, cannon mills) ended up bankrupt, they sold off the machinery that ran the mills in kannapolis to china.  Now that’s homeland insecurity for you.

Response:

> Yep one of the maing reasons we won WWII is that the US flat-out > outproduced Germany.  Our tanks weren’t as good as theirs but we could make > and replace them faster, for example. > At the present time, it is very hard to imagine this could happen.  We > outsource so many raw materials, not to mention the manufacturing itself.

And isn’t that retarded? And a breach in security? Having another country manufacture our military equipment? I can see it now. US arms company sends out design plans for a bazooka in American Standard measurements to a country that uses the Metric System. Soldier attempts to load bazooka with an American made warhead…AND IT DON’T FIT!!! [sic] – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Ever since the American Civil War, industrial capacity has been the >engine behind US military might.  While the South might have >out-soldiered the North, the North out-produced them.  WWII was won by >American industry, that supplied both its own and the Soviet armies. >World War II was American power at its peak.  German prisoners being >transported by train to POW camps stared out at the industrial plants >as they passed and asked themselves:  How could we have ever challenged >such a nation with such productive capacity? >But follow the same route now, and everywhere you will see ruin: >derelict plants, abandoned factories, rusting scrap heaps.  The region >that used to be the heart of American power is now called the Rust >Belt.  The muscle of American industry has atrophied.  The forces of >globalization have rotted it away.  Manufacturing is no longer the >engine of the nation’s economy, and as industrial capacity declines, so >does our military capacity. >For the first time since America emerged as a first-rank war and >industrial power in the 1890s, some U.S. military planners openly doubt >the country’s manufacturers can sustain the nation in a major war >larger than the Iraq conflict. >"What kind of superpower are you if you can’t make what you need?” >asked systems engineer Sheila Ronis, a lecturer at the Pentagon’s >Industrial College of the Armed Forces. >The decline of the Detroit auto industry and the rise of industrial >China have decimated a supporting cast of die, machine, mold and >tooling shops, a metalworks industry centered in Indiana, Illinois, >Michigan and Ohio. >For the same reason imported chairs, televisions and clothes fill >American homes, imported parts appear in increasing volumes in military >hardware. Imports cost less than homemade. >While no one is sure how many imported parts are used in weapons >systems, a growing chorus of researchers and trade groups express >concern. They warn the rise of imports and the demise of the metalworks >trades threaten the nation’s manufacturing base. >http://www.indystar.com/… >Increasingly, the only plants that survive are those that are >subsidized by government conracts, insulated from the market forces >that drive consumer-based manufacturing either into bankruptcy or >overseas.  But how much of the supply chain, the necessary parts, the >raw materials, is still produced in this country?  What if it were cut >off? >The United States is increasingly senescent, a declining, dying power >holding onto its empire only by force.  But even this is almost beyond >us.  Compared to WWII, the Iraq War is a minor effort, yet it has all >but exhausted US military capacity, both human and material.  How far >we have fallen, how weak we have become. >when the bushies and corporate profiteers started looking for cheaper >product and higher profits, american interests were not of concern. >this country (translate: politicians) has allowed the massive selloff >of our industries, we lost the ability to be self sufficient. >we need to stress that the failed policies of the reagan, bush pere and >bush fil admins to turn america into a "service" economy (at the >enrichment of their corporate donors) has made america extremely >vulnerable and incapable of self-sustenance. >we are not only incapable of making anything now, we are incapable of >meeting our nation’s needs in the future, as the "corporate >bankruptcies" have allowed the sell-off of the industrial >infrastructure to the nations taking over those activities. >when pillowtex (formerly, cannon mills) ended up bankrupt, they sold >off the machinery that ran the mills in kannapolis to china.  Now >that’s homeland insecurity for you.

Response: