THERE ARE LIES, DAMN LIES, STATISTICS
AND WHAT THE PENTAGON AND THE MILITARY SAY
To what extent should the Nation’s military be forthcoming?
There are some, particular the military themselves, who believe that the public at large should be told as little as possible, lied to, and otherwise deceived where necessary, and kept confused at all times. In short, they think that anything and everything to do with National Security should be kept secret.
You can make quite a good case for this mindset—because it supposedly denies the enemy much information—if you can safely assume that defense is properly run, that all involved behave honorably, and that the MICC—the Military Industrial Complex—are all honorable people and can be trusted.
If you know your history (and all too many do not) and follow the defense establishment on a regular basis, you will soon realize that the military swim in a sea of their own propaganda—and have a hard time telling the truth even when it is clearly in their own interests to do so.
A consequence of all this is that it is very hard to ascertain the truth of any defense matter (which is how the Pentagon likes it).
The new fighter, the F-35, which is being bought by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in various forms—and which constitutes the most expensive procurement program in military history—is a perfect case in point.
On the one hand, the Marines are just about to announce their first squadron (of only 10 aircraft) to be combat ready.
On the other hand, I have just read a report which states that even when compared with our existing aircraft, such as the f-15 and F-16, the F-35 is inferior when it comes to dogfighting. It cannot turn, or otherwise maneuver, fast enough.
Now, where does the truth of the matter lie?
Does anyone care?
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