Just Because We Can Build It Doesn't Mean We Should

The United States is by far the most powerful military power in the world and yet Pentagon right wingers seem to be itching to make more trouble for ourselves not less; Raw Story explains when weapons systems are more dangerous than they're worth:

"The Pentagon is pressing Congress to approve the development of a new weapon that would enable the United States to carry out nonnuclear missile strikes against distant targets within an hour," reports The New York Times in a story slated for the front page of Monday's edition.

(snip)

This "nonnuclear version of the submarine-launched Trident II missile" could "add to the president's options when considering a pre-emptive attack," The Times reports.

"There is great concern this could be destabilizing in terms of deterrence and nuclear policy," Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), an Armed Services Committee member, tells The Times. "It would be hard to determine if a missile coming out a Trident submarine is conventional or nuclear."

There are other ways to deliver a conventional weapon without creating confusion. I'm for a strong defense but I'm not for a Pentagon-driven beefed-up military that loses sight of what its goals and responsibilities are. And beyond a certain point money is truly better spent elsewhere. I keep thinking how a single missile launched from a unmanned aerial drone that kills women and children can undo months of hard work by special forces and nongovernment agencies in some of the regions we need to reach. We need to get people like Rumsfeld and the other cowboys out of Washington. We have plenty of military power. What we don't have are officials in Washington who are competent; we have spent the last four years losing friends rather than gaining friends. We are already paying a terrible price for our president's arrogance and shortsightedness.