The Case for a Pentagon Watchdog

Libertarianism is a political philosophy that is vulnerable to being labeled as "anti-military."

To clear the record, libertarians are very pro-defense in many the same ways as conservatives. They are not a strawman of weak-kneed commie pinko appeaser hippie pacifist types.

The thing with libertarianism is that its consistently anti-horsecrap when it comes to the government; even moreso than vanilla conservatism supposedly is. The military - God Bless the men and women in uniform - is still a part of the government. My father has retired career officers for friends, and they truthfully inform us that the higher in rank one goes, the more inefficient bureaucracy you will start to observe, particularly in the Pentagon.

Its not that libertarians are anti-military. Not at all. They are consistently anti-bureaucracy, and unlike straw conservatism, the Pentagon is not given a special pass. Here are some examples that make a case for why one should pay attention to big government. Even to one of the few arms conceded in having a justifiable existence.

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Boeing YAL-1

Projected Research Cost: 60 Billion.
Real Research Cost: 9 years overdue and $4 billion over-budget.

Cost per Unit: $700 Million+

Operating Costs: 92,000 per hour.
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A laser on a plane? With the sole purpose to shoot down missiles? At the cost of nearly 4 F-22s? Is there nothing better to do with that kind of money? More successful concepts of pilot training it can go towards?

Here are further samplings of how even the Pentagon proves to still be a Washington bureaucracy.

I have a sister in the Navy. I have a cousin in the Marine Corps. I'm proud of them. I do not have to be proud of their upper management accountants however.

~David Morris~