The Hill News

U.S. Senators like John McCain understandably have been alarmed to discover that at least one million counterfeit parts â€" most coming from China â€" now permeate American weapons and other military systems.  And commendably, they have pledged to deal with a threat that’s been a matter of public record for more than a year and a half, when the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued a detailed report on the subject.

But if McCain in particular wants to understand why the armed forces have become so dangerously compromised, he should start by looking in the mirror.  For McCain has long been a major obstacle to Congressional efforts to require that U.S. military products be made mainly of American-manufactured parts, components, and other inputs. 

Moreover, for even longer, McCain has enthusiastically supported the U.S. trade policies that have encouraged the American electronics industry and other high-value U.S. manufa! cturers to offshore so much production, so many jobs, and lately so much research and development to geopolitically unreliable countries â€" principally China.

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