Budget Foretells Aging and Shrinking of America's Airpower

By Fred Edwards | 11/01/08

Crosshairs - Military Matters in ReviewBilly Mitchell, often called "The Father of the Air Force," proved in 1924 that an aerial machine could sink a battleship when his crews sent the "unsinkable" German prize-of-war Ostfriesland to the bottom. In Mitchell's vision for a nationwide air force, he wrote that there is no lead time for procurement of military aircraft: "The country that is ready with its air force and jumps on its opponent at once... read more »

Retired Army general paints bleak picture of future U.S. space supremacy

By Fred Edwards | 10/25/08

Fifty-one years ago on October 4, the Soviet Union surprised the West by launching Sputnik I into orbit. This created a frightening scenario where the Cold-War adversary had placed a surreal piece of hardware into orbit overhead, perhaps looking right into our backyards. It propelled the United States into a crash mission to overtake the Soviet Union in space technology, which it did.Since 1957, space systems have become critically important to... read more »

WHO'S IN CHARGE? "The War Within" Highlights Command of Military

By Fred Edwards | 10/14/08

If we accept Bob Woodward's' latest book, The War Within, as factual -- and there's no reason we shouldn't since it sprang from interviews he made with more than 150 top-level sources, including nearly three hours with President Bush -- then we need to carefully evaluate who is running the war in Iraq and why.First, here are the facts as reported:* In September 2006, the Joint Chiefs of Staff convened a team of colonels to recommend options for... read more »