Free Republic

If one overall concept drives national security decisions in Washington, it is that technology in the form of highly complex, and thus massively expensive, weapons along the lines of the F-35 stealth fighter, the B-21 Raider long-range strike bomber, and Ford-class aircraft carriers are needed to accomplish our strategic goals. We saw this with the president’s $705.4 billion defense budget request that includes $2.8 billion for the new bomber and $11.4 billion for the troubled fighter. The advocates of these programs often justify the cost associated with them by saying that their mere existence holds our potential adversaries at bay....

U.S. Fights Iraqi Republican GuardMarch 24, 2003 U.S. forces have reportedly begun their first attacks on Iraq's most elite and believed most competent and best-armed troops: the Republican Guard. The New York Times reports U.S. Army forces began their battle for the so-called "Red Zone" - the land surrounding Baghdad - with air strikes late Sunday by several squadrons of helicopters and over 30 surface-to-surface missiles. One U.S. pilot in the battle was reportedly wounded by small arms fire, but was nevertheless able to fly back to the Army base. The target is reported to have been the Medina...