Liberal Talk Radio

When we last left our favorite bloated, overbudget next-generation jet fighter, the F-22 raptor, it was being sold as a vital weapon in the “War on Terror.” Desperate to keep their funding, Air Force Generals were trying to convince us that billion-dollar fighter jets could be used to, I don’t know… sniff out suicide bombers at Ramadi check points?

What a difference a year makes.

With neocon nutcases angling for WW3 with Russia over the disputed provinces in Georgia, the Military-Industrial Complex has shaken off the GWOT like a bad cold and found a new raison d’etre:

When Russia’s invading forces choked roads into Georgia with columns of armored vehicles and struck targets from the air, it instantly bolstered the case being made by some that the Defense Department isn’t taking the threat from Russia and China seriously enough. If the conflict in Georgia continues and intensifies, it could make it easier for defense companies to ensure the long-term funding of their big-ticket items.

Ho baby! Where’s Tom Clancy when we need him?! Listen to the whining of the former fighter jocks at the “Air Force Association”:

Mr. Dunn, a retired Air Force lieutenant general, said that if U.S. F-16 and F-18 fighters were carrying out combat missions over Georgia, they would be in grave danger from highly advanced Russian surface-to-air missiles on the border that a newer plane like the F-22 can evade. “The debate has got to shift as a result of this war,” said Mr. Dunn.

Look, if F-16 and F-18 fighters were carrying out combat missions over Georgia, it would mean that World War III was underway, and that New York, DC, and Moscow were days away from being obliterated in a nuclear holocaust. You’ll excuse me if, under those circumstances, my utmost concern is not the air superiority of our F-16s.