During a Monday interview, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby asserted that President Joe Biden had asked Congress for supplemental funding because the United States needs to “replenish” the stockpile of weapons to defend ourselves.
Kirby made the comments on Monday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” responding to a question from co-host Phil Mattingly about the U.S. being “dangerously low” on weapons.
“In the President’s primetime address, he talked about the aid he’s seeking for Ukraine, and how much of that aid is to basically refill American stockpiles,” the CNN host said. “My question is, the state of those stockpiles right now, the state of where U.S. weapons stockpiles stand, with two wars — sending now two different types of shipments on a regular basis towards two U.S. allies, how big is the concern that the U.S. is dangerously low on what it should have for its own defense right now?”
“Well, of course, it’s a concern,” Kirby responded. “That’s why we asked for that extra supplemental funding from Congress.”
He went on to try to assure Americans that the U.S. military currently has enough weapons to “defend our national security interests all around the world” — but explained that the Biden administration had depleted the stockpile with constant shipments to Ukraine, and the problem is now getting worse as they’ve added a second war to fund in Israel.
It only took less than three years to go from the world being at peace to multiple wars on two different continents and seven American embassies being forcibly evacuated.
Imagine what will happen if America endures four more years of a weak and frail leader.
— Michael Seifert (@realmichaelseif) October 23, 2023
“Without getting into classified information, I can assure you and the American people that the United States military can continue to defend our national security interests all around the world,” Kirby claimed. “But it’s something that we watch very, very closely, and with every single aid package that goes to Ukraine and now Israel, the Department of Defense has to do an assessment to make sure that we can continue to meet our own war plans and our own operational needs. And we’re doing that. We’ve also revitalized the defense industry to create, to manufacture, and produce much more of these munitions so that we can, A. keep them going to Ukraine and Israel, but also, B. replenish those stocks. But it is important, and that’s exactly why the President asked for that supplemental funding.”
CNN: "How big is the concern that the US is dangerously low on [weapons] it should have for its own defense right now?"
KIRBY: "Of course it's a concern!" pic.twitter.com/ltW2pfuU8G
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 23, 2023
