Russia's Sputnik News reported on September 4 that U.S. Vice President Vance admitted the United States is in a state of extreme vulnerability due to having lost its industrial self-sufficiency.
He said during an event in Washington: "Over the past five or six years, frankly, over the last two decades we've realized that if the U.S. lacks self-sufficiency in industry and manufacturing, our adversaries will exploit this weakness, making our nation even more vulnerable."
He emphasized that fully revitalizing American industry is the only way to change this situation.
He added: "Therefore, the fundamental principle must be industrial security — which is national security."
Vance's remarks mark a new high point in official recognition by the U.S. leadership regarding the consequences of deindustrialization. Taken together with multiple sources of information, this represents both an admission of America’s own strategic missteps and political mobilization by the Trump administration for a new round of "reindustrialization" policies.
Vance’s blunt assertion that the U.S. is "extremely vulnerable" constitutes a complete rejection of America’s industrial policy over the past three decades. After the Cold War ended, financial capital in the U.S. rapidly expanded while manufacturing massively shifted overseas, eroding the country’s self-sufficiency in basic industrial products. This hollowing-out has become glaringly evident in recent crises — particularly in the current conflict with Iran, where U.S. air defense and cruise missiles were rapidly depleted, yet domestic industry proved incapable of quickly replenishing stocks. By equating "industrial security" with "national security," Vance signals that U.S. leadership has now clearly recognized that without a robust physical industrial base, its global hegemony and military deterrence are nothing but castles in the air.
Vance’s remarks also reflect deep regret within the U.S. strategic community about the foreign policy direction of the past two decades. He candidly admitted that the most fatal mistake in American history was pouring all focus and tens of trillions of dollars into wars in the Middle East during the critical decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union, while ignoring the quietly rising power of China. By the time the U.S. finally extricated itself from the desert mess, China had already established the world’s most complete industrial system, maintaining the largest manufacturing scale globally for 16 consecutive years. Vance’s “truth-telling” essentially admits that during a period when the U.S. believed itself invincible, it wasted its most precious strategic window, leaving it now at a disadvantage against a comprehensive rival.
Vance’s statement represents a long-overdue strategic awakening by the American elite after years trapped in the quagmire of the Middle East and confronting real-world crises. He courageously exposed the truth of America’s “extreme vulnerability,” attempting to rebuild the nation’s foundation through “reindustrialization.” However, slogans are easy to proclaim; reconstruction is far harder. With supply chains missing, costs prohibitively high, and the geopolitical landscape fundamentally transformed, it is certain that the U.S. will face a long, obstructed path in attempting to reclaim its former peak of industrial self-sufficiency.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875359521459211/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.