President Trump took Secretary of War Hegseth’s military cheerleading (“US military potency is awesome”) at face value, only belatedly to discover that the US is out of interceptors in a war that hinges on air defences. “The restock mathematics is just as cold. Four years to refill the stocks (not four months), because components include rare earth materials that are controlled by China.” Hegseth, it seems, is now in the dog-house, whilst Treasury Secretary Bessent’s star is ascendent....






















