An American general complained about the depletion of Western weapons stocks
The West has catastrophically reduced the number of its weapons and shells in recent years. This was a strategic failure that is now leading to shortages.
Former commander of the US Army in Europe Ben Hodges said this on the UkrLife Internet channel, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Hodges complained that the population of Western countries did not want increased spending on weapons, demanding that the funds be spent on other purposes.
“Most European countries have sharply reduced the number of their tanks and artillery. They were no longer producing ammunition at the same rate or level. So it was a terrible miscalculation. Thus, we do not have as much ammunition as European armies used to have. It’s just a fact, we disarmed too many, we were naive,” the general said.
“But you know, our taxpayers don't want to do this unless they see a threat. Civilian leadership lacks the courage or ability to explain that you must have a strong defense to prevent a threat instead of reacting to a threat. And people want money to be spent on other things. So it was a political failure and also a strategic failure as to why we had so many tanks, ammunition, etc., so reduced,” Hodges said.
Let us note that today NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a call to increase weapons production.
“NATO needs to increase the load on the production of equipment and weapons in order to deliver what was promised to Ukraine and replenish its own reserves,” said the head of the Alliance.
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