Raptor Sighting
I'm not quite sure I understand the logic behind stealing funds from the F-22 fighter program and mothballing an aircraft carrier in order to raise cash for the ongoing war on terror. Unlike the canceled Crusader artillery system and the Comanche attack chopper, air superiority is not only important against large mechanized standing armies. Most anything you want to do versus bad guys requires control of the air.
Losing a new fighter wing or carrier group might look sustainable now, but it is the kind of decision America will have to live with for many decades into an uncertain future. Accordingly, taking action that might reduce U.S. air capability and flexibility must be a last-resort option. And if we are truly down to last resorts, the invasion of Iraq was a bigger strategic mistake than I thought possible.