Woodrow Keels: Smarter Pentagon spending would help veterans
Whether you support a strong military or deep cuts to defense
spending, everyone generally agrees that the Pentagon needs to
prune weapons and aircraft programs whose budgets have
overstepped their usefulness ("U.S. better off with a weaker
military," by David Cirtchett, Commentary, Jan. 13).  For
example, we are spending more than $12 billion a year to finance
the Joint Strike Fighter, a travesty of a fighter jet that test
pilots have said will be gunned down as soon as it faces a
dogfight. By making smart cuts to bad apples like the JSF, the
Pentagon could save money for critical troop training and
equipment, making us stronger, not weaker.  It could also free
up money for improving veterans' benefits, which Congress
recently cut, breaking its word to thousands of veterans who
have protected our freedom in combat. The Veterans
Administration also continues to struggle with an enormous
backlog of veterans' claims.  Congress could provide more fund