Weapons stockpile shortages impacting military strategy in the Mideast

The Pentagon is confronting a growing reality after months of fighting Iran: America's stockpile of missile defense interceptors. It is shrinking so much, military planners are weighing whether they can continue the current cycle of limited retaliatory strikes. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, using open-source budget numbers provided to Congress, estimates U.S. Patriot interceptor inventories have fallen from roughly 2,300 pre-war to fewer than 827. THAAD interceptor inventories have also dropped from 452 to fewer than 278. CSIS warns rebuilding those stockpiles could take three years or more, raising concerns about protecting U.S. forces and bases worldwide if...