Mark F. Cancian

“But my suspicion is the Joint Chiefs of Staff sees us at a danger point for conflict with China, where we’d need all these missiles, and that’s why we’d call this a window of vulnerability.”

Mark F. Cancian · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-09

Cancian said the Joint Chiefs of Staff likely sees a danger point for conflict with China due to depleted missile stockpiles.

“If the fighting starts up again and the Iranians keep firing missiles at the Gulf states then they’ll be screaming for additional missiles,”

Mark F. Cancian · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-09

Cancian warned that if fighting resumes, Gulf states under Iranian missile attack will demand additional missiles.

“For a war against Iran, we could continue that for some time, for months,”

Mark F. Cancian · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-09

Cancian, lead author of a CSIS shortage analysis, previously told USA TODAY the U.S. could continue the war against Iran for months.