F-35's are the epitome of the military-industrial complex: unnecessary, overpromised, and underdelivered (faulty, fragile, expensive, late). They should just be

F-35's are the epitome of the military-industrial complex: unnecessary, overpromised, and underdelivered (faulty, fragile, expensive, late). They should just be called F-111 2.0. It might not be a comedy of errors, but it could be a comedy of a travesty of comedic errors. It's not like there's a competitive marketplace for 5.5th gen fighters or alternatives to strategic, US-flag-waving purchases (NATO / political arm-twisting probably happened). I think a lot of countries want to stay on the US' good side because it's Godzilla, so they'll go along most of the time. In international diplomatic circles, whenever the words "democracy" or "the peace process" get mentioned in press reports, mentally-substitute those with the words "whatever America wants" and it will be accurate 99 times out of 100. Maybe with the ascent of China, the US and China will have to compete and negotiate more for favors than simply demanding unwavering fealty. PS: The first porn mags I ever saw were Danish. I can't say I saw much because that was the era when beavers had full pelts.