Do we need the SR-71?

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:CYonc.57309$kh4.3397705@attbi_s52...

According to Bill Fox, Lockheed Skunkworks project coordinator for over 30
years (and the guy who donated all the stuff for our Blackbird Suite), the
final nail in the coffin was politics, pure and simple.


There are still intact Blackbirds around. The Air Force has the optical
packages in storage somewhere, too.

The same political forces that killed the SR-71 would also have killed the
Aurora -- they would have hated it for the same reason they hated the
Blackbirds.

The SR-71 was assigned to SAC, which never wanted it. It competed for tanker
resources, did not carry any ordnance, and stole all the glory at airshows.
When it was retired, no high-ranking members of the military or Pentagon
were present at the ceremony.

Me thinks that you have been reading too many books by ex-blackbird pilots.

Mike
MU-2


"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:CYonc.57309$kh4.3397705@attbi_s52...

According to Bill Fox, Lockheed Skunkworks project coordinator for over
30
years (and the guy who donated all the stuff for our Blackbird Suite),
the
final nail in the coffin was politics, pure and simple.


There are still intact Blackbirds around. The Air Force has the optical
packages in storage somewhere, too.

The same political forces that killed the SR-71 would also have killed the
Aurora -- they would have hated it for the same reason they hated the
Blackbirds.

The SR-71 was assigned to SAC, which never wanted it. It competed for
tanker
resources, did not carry any ordnance, and stole all the glory at
airshows.
When it was retired, no high-ranking members of the military or Pentagon
were present at the ceremony.

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
Me thinks that you have been reading too many books by ex-blackbird
pilots.


Or maybe looking at too many of their web sites. Still, they seemed to make
some sense.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
Me thinks that you have been reading too many books by ex-blackbird
pilots.


Or maybe looking at too many of their web sites. Still, they seemed to
make
some sense.

I don't know. The Blackbird was incredibly expensive to operate, something
like $200k/hr 15 years ago. The recon systems are dated and there is no
need to go M3 if the enemy doesn't have any airplanes. It seems to me that
systems like Global Hawk or Preditor, with their ability to loiter over an
area of interest and even to carry weapons, are far superior to an airplane
that flys by a 2000mph and then has to have its film developed after
returning to one of a very few bases capable of supporting it. Then, the
next day (at the earliest) something can be done about what was seen.

Chemical weapons need to be used in large quantities to be effective in the
open. An effective chemical arsenal would involve thousands or tons of
material. We have had access to the country and the people for a year. A
few guys didn't carry off and bury a million pounds of chemical weapons
unobserved.

Lets face it, we were duped into believing Iraq had WMD by Saddam's bravado
and our own over-willingness to believe. The issue now is how are we going
to extract ourselves from Iraq without looking like we were beaten off (ala
Somalia) or leaving a goverment as brutal as Saddam's to maintain order.
Ultimately, Iraq like Yugoslavia is not a natural country and perhaps only
force can keep it together.

Mike
MU-2

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
news

Lets face it, we were duped into believing Iraq had WMD by Saddam's
bravado
and our own over-willingness to believe. The issue now is how are we
going
to extract ourselves from Iraq without looking like we were beaten off
(ala
Somalia) or leaving a goverment as brutal as Saddam's to maintain order.
Ultimately, Iraq like Yugoslavia is not a natural country and perhaps only
force can keep it together.


The issue is also how to bring some sense into how we are doing things
there. Lessee: these clerics are inciting people to throw bombs and missiles
at contractors who are bringing food and medical supplies into the area. The
clerics are so influential that they have enormous private armies that shoot
at anything that moves and whose people are willing to blow themselves up
and who do so on a regular basis. But we don't want to enter Najaf because
it might **** 'em off?

What, they are only a mite irritated right now and we don't want to get them
really mad?

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...


What, they are only a mite irritated right now and we don't want to get
them
really mad?



Maybe those guys at Abu Ghraib had it right. If Rumsfeld had any guts at
all, he would have told Congress, "Hey, if you mess with the United States
of America, this is what's going to happen to you."

Actually, the whole situation is so contrived, you have to wonder if that is
not exactly what is being said.

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
news

Lets face it, we were duped into believing Iraq had WMD by Saddam's
bravado
and our own over-willingness to believe.

Either that or Saddam dumped it ALL on the Kurds...and those hundreds of
trucks running into Syria were carrying pomogranites.

The issue now is how are we going
to extract ourselves from Iraq without looking like we were beaten off
(ala
Somalia) or leaving a goverment as brutal as Saddam's to maintain order.

Are we?