A QUICK NOTE:
“An important test of the United States’ fledgling missile defense system ended in failure early Wednesday as an interceptor rocket failed to launch on cue from the Marshall Islands, the Pentagon said.”
We have spent $80 billion since 1985 on this failed missile defense program (its chief scientist previously claimed there is only a 10% chance that the system would work). According to testimony by the Army’s vice chief of staff, when the military needed 8,400 armor kits for Humvees in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush responded by submitting a budget in early 2004 that proposed “exactly zero dollars” for Humvee armor kits. The disparity speaks volumes about this president and his so-called “moral values.”
Oh, but now,”Pentagon officials are working to address the problem. The Pentagon is preparing the largest supplemental budget request ever — close to $100 billion — to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for gear to replace equipment worn out in the fighting. ”
A bit late, don’t you think?
“$80 Billion since 1985” lets see. . . 2004-1985=19 years. 80/19=4.2
I’m sorry but $4.2 Billion dollars a year isn’t even a drop in the bucket for the US Government.
The story behind it makes lots of sense too. When the Cold war was going strong, and we believed that we could plunge into Nuclear War with the USSR at any moment, this system was needed. Work was begun, and much ado was made of it.
Even without a working system, it was still a powerful deterrent. The Soviets didn’t know how close we were, and if it did work, and WWIII did begin, we could be nice and safe behind our “Star Wars” shield while we turned them into a Radioactive Glassy Plain. >
When the cold war ended, the need for this defense became far less. BUT, there are always rogue states trying to get Nukes, and we’ve already spent $15 billion on it already. . .
And thus it continues. Where do you draw the line? after spending $XX billion, do you really want to stop when you could be only $1 or $2 billion away?
So it continues. It has usefull spin-offs, which are rarely mentioned (the Aegis System; Patriot).
As for the HUMVEE armor. . .
I’ve never liked Bush. But when we went in, the importance of armor on the HUMVEEs wasn’t fully realized. They are Transport, for the most part, designed to get troops from point A to point B, where they can then fight, and it was not expected that they would be have a IED at point C along the route, or come under sniper fire at point D on the way home. Why would they? They didn’t in the 1st Gulf War! ((Military Axiom: The Generals are always perfectly prepared – to fight the last (previous) war.))
The only reason I can think of that Bush didn’t ask for HUMVEE armor kits in the 2004 proposed budget was 2 reasons: A) He was already so overbudget he feared to add anything else. and B) He (vainly) hoped to be able to purchase the armor with the “War Chest” congress had already approved.
Kerry was still wrong. It’s
“The RIGHT war, In the RIGHT place, BUT at the WRONG time.”