That the military and our government are just now
realizing that this is a problem....that the manufacturing base that is so necessary to fight a war (which, hopefully we don't have to do again) of any large scale no longer exists in this country Raw materials are one thing, the ABILITY to manufacture things from those raw materials is another.... ...and we don't control many of the sources of raw materials, anyway.
Should large scale conflict happen, especially with the Chinese, how long can we wage war without the electronics and other products that the CHINESE exclusively produce? Yes, the Japanese and the Malaysians and the Singaporese can take up some of that slack, but they are in, essentially, the Chinese backyard. How long will they last? Even if they do, how will we transport those components they produce (and we DON'T) from them to us?
Global manufacturing is a great idea...as long as everyone is at peace. But the military is about defending the citizens of this country and taking the fight to the enemy should that be required....and they need the tools with which to do so
How much of that manufacturing...of chips, other electronics, exotic smelting and refining, chemical processes, etc has left our country because of taxes and, especially, our environmental regulations? How much because our trade practices made it easier and cheaper to outsource? How do we get enough back under our control and security to make us able to defend ourselves (much less wage offensive war) for an extended period?
"every Blade of Grass" is, indeed, a thing. But that only works so well, for so long. Real weapons of war take more infrastructure and more manufacturing. Remember: In WWII, the real reason the US (and it's allies
supplied by the US) was the ability to produce more weapons and tools of war faster than the opponents...More ships, more guns, more ammunition, more fighter planes, more of the tools of war for soldiers to use. We OUT-MANUFACTURED our enemies as much as beat them man to man. At the end of the day, no matter how valiant the fighter is, he needs guns, and food, and clothing, and the other tools of war to wage war. An empty rifle is just a club, and a fighter jet without missiles is just a fast plane. ...a submarine without torpedoes is just a boat that submerges.