Peace through strength, and superior firepower.

The recent efforts to secure the US are not impressive, and China is a military opponent with all the economic power, weaponry, and manpower to do pretty much any damnned thing it pleases. Anyone remember Japan during the 1930's, or are history lessons only for the huddled masses? The US blundered it's way to victory in the Pacific during WW II, not so much because of superior technology or tactics, but more because of some luck and the individual tenacity of the military men involved. The simgle most important factor was the lack of raw materials and manufacturing facilities within Japan's reach. Does anyone think that China lacks either?

A plan to arm our military with the best equipment available is one part of a strategy to prevent China from aggressive moves. A better program, and one that I hope is being pursued, is to partner that equipment improvement with sustained diplomatic efforts and a covert conversion of the Chinese to free-market liberty. Best to us all.

Dan Patterson
Winston-Salem, NC

I say build 'em.

The argument "We don't have the money" doesn't hold up so well when you see other places in history where it has been used, such as in Britain and France in the 1930s. We have a lead in technology over China, and the best way to avoid conflict is to maintain and/or enhance that lead. Nations like China do not blunder into war when they think their opponents are too strong, they blunder into wars when they think their opponents are too weak, and that they can win.

Let's remove all doubt until China is a democracy.

Ditto on building the F-22s. While it's clear that the United States has air superiority, it only has air superiority for the moment ... and the loss of that superiority is only as far away as the next clever scientist or technologist.

--|PW|--

Build 'em. And I say that as an engineer who's been paying his mortgage with Redleg money for almost fifteen years.

We have the resources to both fight this war and prepare for the next one (my biggest grumble is that they didn't go with the F-23 instead). Eventually, we will face an opponent who can pose a credible air-to-air threat; when that happens, we'll want every Raptor we can get.

Build them.

And build the unmanned vehicles.

And replace the aging bombers.

Do what it takes to make sure we never lose any war ever...

We need to build them. India has much better planes than we do at the moment! Indi-freakin'-a! Our Air Force's main advantage is AWACS. If that goes away, we are not going to do so well. The Ruskies have been building and designing planes, while we have been screwing around with an F-15 replacement! The Eagle came out many years before I was born. It is older than some of its pilots. This is something that needs changing, fast.

The Air Force has a history of canning useful aircraft in order to acquire 'sexy aircraft.' (Witness the A-10)

However, the euphoria over the 'collapse of communism' (and therefore any other threat - can you say: "blinders") and subsequent marginalizing of the military has done far more damage to our national security than any fighter plane misjudgments. Let's have a big hand for congress!

All that said, the F/A-22 is the next step in keeping our military up to date. Military aircraft are designed several years before their deployment (the F/A 18 was designed in the 80's). The F/A 22 is a necessary step forward.