(2002-02-28) a

A good article from Time Magazine (already slid into their paid archive) on the ridiculously huge defense budget. I'm disappointed that Donald Rumsfeld has turned into a bitch for the Pentagon since his attempts at Military Reform were killed. The article identies various dubious projects (Crusader, $475m next year; F-22 Raptor, $219m each; RAH-66 Comanche, $40m each).

The Crusader has detractors, like candidate George W Bush, but it also has powerful backers. United Defense, the company building the systems, is owned by the Carlyle Group, a private investment firm known for its GOP heavyweights, including Frank Carlucci, Ronald Reagan's Pentagon chief, and James Baker, George H W Bush's Secretary Of State and the man who helped George W Bush win his election struggle in Florida.