I would be perfectly happy to see a top to bottom review of our force posture, after defining strategic challenges for the next decade or so. If there is reason to reallocate resources, that is fine. But there is sometimes too much hostility to the R&D aspect of defense, even though much of it pays off in the end.....
I live in Annapolis, and have some experience with preservationists, you know, the ones who ensure that old houses are maintained, and worry about letting new architecture into the downtown area. Much of what they have done has been worthwhile, of course, in preserving the charm and attraction of the town. However, they are knee- jerk in their zealousness over preservation, and occasionally are practically ready to ruin people because they do not like some proposed building plan, or alteration, or demolition. I had a friend who bought a lot next to a historic garden. It took several years, endless hearings before commissions and in the courts, before he could finally build his house. Needless to say, it was very costly.
The environmental movement is often like that. They held up an expansion of our mall for about a year over a wetlands dispute. It turned out that it was a puddle that appeared part of the year, and was merely a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I have seen enough things like that to be skeptical....... |
