The Washington Post published a story last night claiming that a frustrated President Trump accused self-styled “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth of not being truthful about the status of munitions stockpiles, during a cabinet meeting at Camp David on July 31. According to the Post’s sources, Hegseth turned around and blamed Stephen Feinberg, Hegseth’s deputy, for not fixing the problem and for not keeping Trump apprised of the issue. According to the Post, “The exchange underscored Trump’s increasing frustration with his defense secretary, who was one of the biggest early advocates for taking military action against Iran, convincing Trump it would be a quick and relatively easy win, according to multiple officials.” Both the White House and the Pentagon responded to the Post story in official statements by calling it “fiction” and “fake news.”
Meanwhile, stories about munitions shortages continue to proliferate. CNN reported on Wednesday, citing “multiple sources familiar with the matter,” that the US military has exhausted nearly 80% of its interceptors for a key missile defense system as senior US military commanders are warning that the Pentagon’s munitions stockpile is “dangerously low.” The inventory of THAAD missiles has reportedly been reduced by four-fifths while the stockpile of Patriot missiles is said to be down by one-half, all since the Feb. 28 start of the war.
