military industrial complex much?

If you've seen "Why We Fight," read this CNN article. If you haven't seen it, read this article, watch the movie, and then think about it.

Generals warn of 'geriatric Air Force'

* Story Highlights
* Jet fighters, bombers, cargo aircraft at the breaking point, Air Force officials say
* Expensive, ultramodern replacements are needed fast, they say
* Air Force's appetite for more money is far greater than other military branches
* Yet the prospects for huge infusions of cash seem dim

Read the Article

It'll be interesting to see if congress keeps it's balls on this one. The Air Force wants more money so they can buy better planes. Now, I'm obviously not that educated on aircraft, but aren't we currently fighting enemies who don't even have planes? And I haven't heard any recent news about defective air craft causing deaths. So, what do we need new planes for? Where are we going with them and what will we be doing with them? Are we planning on being in a major world war with advanced militaries any time soon?

I hope congress takes a good look into this before it approves more money. It begs many questions. With all the politicians talking about ending the war, bringing home our troops, and cutting our military funding, this is an opportunity to prove that they are actually interested in working on it. With the shadow of the contractor scandels that have occurred over the past few years, there's no reason we shouldn't look closely into our own military as well. Money is money. Even if the difference in the Air Force's request and the Bush Administration's proposed allotment is only $20 billion, imagine if we redirected that money to education. Think of how much our school districts could do with $20 billion! If the Air Force needs new planes for a real, reasonable reason, then I can understand giving them the money (even though I think a lot of the "protecting our nation" messages are propaganda). But, if there are holes in this request - there are better places in the budget to put this money.