The head of the largest American bank JPMorgan has denounced the lengthy “procurement procedures” that weaken the Department of Defense’s ability to strengthen its weapon stocks.
Jamie Dimon warns American policymakers. Speaking at the Hill and Valley Forum where leaders from Washington and Silicon Valley unite, the JPMorgan chief expressed deep frustration over certain decisions made in the United States in recent years, as reported by Fortune.
Among them, the increased bureaucracy and the growing involvement of Congress, which according to him, have slowed down and complicated the procurement procedures for armaments of the Department of Defense. To the point where it is no longer able to adapt quickly in times of conflict as is currently the case in the Middle East.
“We have become like Europe, we are unable to evolve and change—modify the budget, modify procurement procedures. You know, we need to let people do what they need to do,” stated Jamie Dimon.
The Pentagon requests an additional $200 billion
The head of the largest American bank is particularly concerned about the production of armaments in the country. The weapon and ammunition stocks of the United States have raised some concerns in recent weeks. According to Congressional officials, the US military had already depleted $5.6 billion in munitions in the first two days of the offensive in Iran. The Pentagon has recently requested an additional budget increase of $200 billion to fund the war in the Middle East.
Facing each Iranian ballistic missile, “at least two” interceptor missiles must be fired to compensate for a possible failure, or even more if the first attempt fails, explained Etienne Marcuz, a researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS). However, the production of these very expensive missiles is limited, even though production rates are expected to increase in the coming years: 96 units per year for the Thaad missile and around 600 for PAC-3 MSE missiles destined for the Patriot system.
“In principle, the stock will not last very long, that’s why it is crucial for the United States and Israel to seek to neutralize launchers as quickly as possible,” Etienne Marcuz assessed. The US Department of Defense, however, announced agreements with defense contractors this Wednesday to ramp up missile production.
Prepare for the Chinese threat
In this context, Jamie Dimon believes that private companies should be encouraged to participate more in production to strengthen the military power of the United States, both to handle current geopolitical tensions and to prepare for the threat of a conflict with China.
Jamie Dimon also judged that American companies had made a mistake in recent decades by localizing their supply chains in China only to produce goods “for $10 less.” According to him, this strategy has strengthened the world’s second-largest economy, which continues to grow faster than the American economy. “Therefore, we should examine our own weaknesses and be prepared, if necessary, to face them,” added Jamie Dimon.
Despite this, the JPMorgan chief is among the few leaders who remain relatively optimistic about the outcome of the conflict in Iran, which could lead to reinforcing the efforts of Gulf countries to achieve a necessary “lasting peace.”
“They have realized that they need a lasting peace. They cannot tolerate their neighbors bombing their data centers with ballistic missiles,” he added.
