Pet Projects Prevail

While modern warfare has moved on, the Pentagon and Congress clings to Cold War era weapons, says Jonathan Karp of The Wall Street Journal:

Five years after the septa. 11 attacks changed American military priorities, the U.S. defense machine is still churning out weapons made for old-style, conventional conflicts, even as it needs new tools to battle terrorists and insurgents. One big reason is the sclerotic nature of the procurement process, in which the military, the White House, the defense industry and Congress fight for pet projects that aren't always in synch with strategic priorities. In the case of the destroyers, the senators maintained a weapon whose origins dated to the last decade for the sake of jobs.

Its all about jobs, not National security, and our economy suffers for it. If only there were real patriots in the Congress, who cared for the country's needs over their few constituents.