Gates' defense budget: more low-tech, less high-tech

[The Minsky Moment]

With North Korea testing long range missile I'd prefer that we keep the Missile Defense Agency.

If only you could actually defend against missile attack just by having an Agency with the appropriate name.

All we would need then is to set up an Agency for World Democracy, Freedom and World Peace, Agency for American Economic Recovery, and Agency for Generalized Happiness.

[Syt]

Austria in charge

A-E-I-O-U?

[Ed Anger]

Austria in charge

A-E-I-O-U?

I'm glad to know that you know your vowels. Also, sometimes Y.

[Valmy]

A-E-I-O-U?

Alles Erdreich Ist Österreich Untertan!

[Neil]

IMHO the missile shield would be the most expensive & useless toy in the history of war even if it worked like a charm shooting down 100 ICBMs from every 100.

What makes you say that?  If the missile shield was perfect, we could finally eliminate Russia.

[Syt]

Austria in charge

A-E-I-O-U?

I'm glad to know that you know your vowels. Also, sometimes Y.

Austriae est imperare orbi universo

[Ed Anger]

Austria in charge

A-E-I-O-U?

I'm glad to know that you know your vowels. Also, sometimes Y.

Austriae est imperare orbi universo

I got it. I went with the cheap vowel joke. 

[Iormlund]

IMHO the missile shield would be the most expensive & useless toy in the history of war even if it worked like a charm shooting down 100 ICBMs from every 100.

What makes you say that?  If the missile shield was perfect, we could finally eliminate Russia.

They could still nuke half the States from subs. Or even fishing trawlers if they feel like it.

[Iormlund]

If North Korea wants to nuke the US  in a first strike you shouldn't worry about ICBMs but fishing boats, cargo containers and civilian airplanes...

How about we worry about both, rather than put all our eggs in one basket?

If money was no concern you could. Somehow I suspect it is, and all those billions would be better spent in the USCG, port facilities and the like rather than on a system which serves Putin better than the US.

[Siege]

I would say that overall this is pretty refreshing - a change of focus from the whiz-bang golly-gee super toys to practical and applicable force augmentation.

We have some 180+ F-22s already - how many more do we need[/]? Note that I am not asking how many more people in Connecticut and Georgia to we need to employ.

Well, they can send those unemployed F-22 builders to fill the 60 000 new openings in the Army.

[Siege]

IMHO the missile shield would be the most expensive & useless toy in the history of war even if it worked like a charm shooting down 100 ICBMs from every 100.

What makes you say that?  If the missile shield was perfect, we could finally eliminate Russia.

There is no political will to do that, even if we could.

[Neil]

IMHO the missile shield would be the most expensive & useless toy in the history of war even if it worked like a charm shooting down 100 ICBMs from every 100.

What makes you say that?  If the missile shield was perfect, we could finally eliminate Russia.

They could still nuke half the States from subs. Or even fishing trawlers if they feel like it.

Fishing trawlers aren't really suited to launch a nuclear missile.

[Neil]

I would say that overall this is pretty refreshing - a change of focus from the whiz-bang golly-gee super toys to practical and applicable force augmentation.

We have some 180+ F-22s already - how many more do we need[/]? Note that I am not asking how many more people in Connecticut and Georgia to we need to employ.

Well, they can send those unemployed F-22 builders to fill the 60 000 new openings in the Army.

These are skilled workers, not idiotic grunts.

[FunkMonk]

I would say that overall this is pretty refreshing - a change of focus from the whiz-bang golly-gee super toys to practical and applicable force augmentation.

We have some 180+ F-22s already - how many more do we need[/]? Note that I am not asking how many more people in Connecticut and Georgia to we need to employ.

Well, they can send those unemployed F-22 builders to fill the 60 000 new openings in the Army.

These are skilled workers, not idiotic grunts.

They can build hundreds of UCAS aircraft, thereby rendering the current Air Force obsolete and send all those personnel into useful services, like the Army or Navy.

[Neil]

I think we've seen from Iraq and Afghanistan that the Army isn't really a useful service either.