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A Choice of Weapons [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-09-05
WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) — The United States has ordered the deployment of 10 F-35 fighter jets to a Puerto Rico airfield to conduct operations against drug cartels, sources say, adding more firepower to intensifying U.S. military operations in the Caribbean that are stoking tension with Venezuela.
An example would be Russia sending billions of dollars worth of aircraft and ships to Crimea only to see them systematically destroyed by $1,000 drones. Sending F-35 aircraft costing about $82 million each, without adding ordinance and maintenance cost, to Puerto Rico with the mission to bomb fishing scows is insanity.
We have had Coast Guard in the area that have done a good job for 100 years , and they can continue to do so. There is also a large Army base on Puerto Rico. The American military can take care of anything happening in the South America backyard without 5th generation stealth bombers with no problem.
So why deploy them?
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Lockheed made the F-35 the most connected asset in the sky to enhance its capabilities. That is satellite communications controlled by the US government or its contractors. Then there was an event in the Ukraine war where Musk decided to shut down starlink at a crucial moment that made a major attack by Ukraine fail. This was widely reported and everyone noticed.
Why would anyone want to buy a $82 million airplane when one of it’s best features could be suddenly shut off at the worst time at the whim of an oligarch?
The sales of F-35 fighters could be better, but deploying them to do something they are not designed for will make sales worse if the buyers find out how much it costs us to sink a few fishing boats. Everything Dumpy touches dies.
This is all a shame. I think the F-35 is a good plane.
AI is a lot smarter than our current dicktater.
Using an atomic bomb to kill mice is a dangerous, ineffective, and illogical idea with devastating consequences for all life and the environment. The idea is a non-starter, as there is no scenario in which using nuclear weapons for pest control is a practical or ethical solution.
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