Does America Have the Means to Fight Again?

"Mark Helprin's many concerns about American strategy and will to face its enemies are all valid ("Are Americans Ready for War?" Weekend Interview by Barton Swaim, May 4). Even he, however, doesn't in this interview face up to a fundamental threat to America's military power.

Heavy industry in the U.S. has hollowed out in the past 30 to 35 years. Shipyards, steel mills, aluminum smelters, foundries and forges, hobbled with high labor costs and byzantine regulations, withered in the face of Far Eastern rivals. Not only China, but South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan have replaced the U.S. as leader in heavy hardware. The strategic implications are profound.

The production surge that let America lead the Allies to victory in World War II couldn't be repeated today, since there is no surge capacity in our key industries. To cite one example, the Kaiser miracle, in which 2,700 Liberty ships were built in four years, would be impossible today. No shipyards. Not enough steel. China could do it, though.

The U.S. struggles at present to produce a monthly total of 40,000 artillery shells of 155mm NATO caliber. There are plans to increase that production rate to 100,000 a month by year's end. Russia, by contrast, is reportedly on track to produce three million artillery shells a year.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been wishful thinking in U.S. policy circles that there would never again be a need for an economy running at full throttle to support a total war. Let us pray this isn't an existential misjudgment.

Soft, squishy service economies, such as the U.S. has become, face grave dangers when the barbarians begin to hammer at the gates.

Dale R. McIntyre

Bartlesville, Okla." [1]

1. Does America Have the Means to Fight Again? Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 May 2024: A.12.