Pentagon Expensively Prepares To Fight a 20th Century War

Lots of tanks and aircraft carriers

The Obama administration foresees 21st century wars fought with fewer boots on the ground and more drones in the air, while the Pentagon continues buying weapons from the last century.

In his Feb. 12 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said America no longer needs to deploy tens of thousands of troops to occupy nations or meet the evolving threat from new extremist groups. Cyber-attacks are the "rapidly growing threat," he said.

Nevertheless, the defense budget contains hundreds of billions of dollars for new generations of aircraft carriers and stealth fighters, tanks that even the Army says it doesn't need and combat vehicles too heavy to maneuver in desert sands or cross most bridges in Asia, Africa or the Middle East.