A Closer Look at Department of Defense (DoD) Spending (January 23, 2007)
Correspondent Paul M. challenged me to back my (wild, unsubstantiated) assertion that the DoD budget contains less waste than Medicare. This is important, so please follow along with an open mind. There are plenty of links for further reading.
Today I offer a glimpse into Pentagon spending. Please note that the Pentagon is a civilian agency. The U.S. Armed Forces do not budget the money or assign the contracts: this is done by civilians under the control of the President and Congress. Please keep this separation in mind. My stepfather was career Air Force, and I learned this distinction is key in any analysis of spending and "waste." (One person's waste is another person's job--and don't forget who controls spending: politicians, not Generals and Admirals.)
As for Pentagon waste: I am skeptical of both the spending and the claims that it can easily be slashed. The issues are very complex and I will try to lay out the most important ones for your review and comment.
Here is Charlas Dufas Smith part two:
The Black Swan Is a Drone
The real impact isn't on short-term oil prices, it's on asymmetric warfare: the coordinated drone attack on Saudi oil facilities is a Black Swan event that is reverberating around the world, awakening copycats and exposing the impossibility of defending against low-cost drones of the sort anyone can buy.
(Some published estimates place the total cost of the 10 drones deployed in the strike at $15,000. Highly capable commercially available drones cost around $1,200 each.)
The attack's success should be a wake-up call to everyone tasked with defending highly flammable critical infrastructure: there really isn't any reliable defense against a coordinated drone attack, nor is there any reliable way to distinguish between an Amazon drone delivering a package and a drone delivering a bomb.
It seems Charles part two is asking Charles part one to return the 4 trillion in wasted navy and air force development. Charles needs to quit the philosophy that things are too complex and only he can discern nuance. I think Charles is your usual repub welfare bum.
No comments:
Post a Comment