[Flipside]

That makes sense Ford, it would also explain the level of vehemence present against 'Terrorists' that seems to fill America at the moment, it's used, oddly enough, in exactly the same way as the word 'Communist' was used in 1950's America, to the point of waging a 'War' against it in Vietnam, with much the same outcome.

Yes, 9/11 was a terrible day, but I suppose to a person who has seen thousands of people starve to death etc, the thought of 3000 people dying in a big building thousands of miles away is as imprtant as the plight of, say, Ethiopians is to the average Westerner, i.e 'Oh, that's a pity, I hope things get better, heres a fiver.'

[Blitzerland]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect

It's psychological. For half a century, America was united against a common, demonized opponent. Right down to the scale of the individual family, all our efforts were made to be somehow connected with our fight against communism. When this abruptly ended, our society was left with a deeply instilled feeling of purpose, but with no target at which to direct it, and that is what is still lingering. We're building weapons to fight an enemy that does not exist because it's just what we feel we're supposed to be doing.

Profound.

*Cats purr

[Janos]

Hey, also remember that the weapon systems the USA uses have become more expensive, as has training.

Compare, for example, the price of arming one F-22 or F-35 with all the hi-tech munitions they will use, to arming a B-52 with dumb bombs. Also, I suspect a price of a single M4 with all the nice toys is a bit higher than standard M16 with just iron sights and pretty much nothing else.

Also, R&D. Stealth, modern communications and stuff like that do not only cost money while built - actually getting to know how to build an UCAV costs a ****load of cash.

[jdjtcagle]

Ok, no time to look... but did anybody put anything worthy down?

please quote