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Comment by icarus_drowning | Hacker News Reader

I think you're reading into this what you want to read into this rather than what is actually there. Sure, this is being used to build JSF's, but really it is a romanticization of American production-- an antidote to the "nothing is made here" nonsense that has become popular these days.

Meanwhile, I'm confused why you're so quick to start what will only be an incendiary political discussion that has nothing to do with the article at all. There are probably better forums than HN to post essays about U.S. military and foreign policy.

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I find people with an agenda will do their best to warp anything remotely related to fit & promote said agenda. Man in uniform saved a kitten from a tree? Clearly pro-Iraq war propaganda. Etc.

> I find people with an agenda will do their best to warp anything remotely related to fit & promote said agenda.

"A fanatic is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject".

Man in uniform saved a kitten from a tree? Clearly pro-Iraq war propaganda. Etc.

Actually, sounds terribly like it. I.e not pro-Iraq per se, but pro-military in general. Those kinds of images are used all the time, especially in countries heading or involved in wars. Also the "soldiers doing cool things", "soldier playing guitar back in the camp and longing for home", "soldiers having some innocent fun between attacks", and the "soldier is a regular guy from some place back home", etc. They are used in order to make the military personnel look humanize, and in effect humanize the war effort.

(Of course, that's not to say that soldiers aren't human: just that this has nothing to do with them being soldiers. Everyone is human -- but war is dehumanizing and makes you do dehumanizing things).

With the same logic it's bad to show a dentist in television doing anything else than playing with peoples teeth. At least he/she should take of the lab-coat before playing guitar or buying coffee. And it must be bad thing to show a cleaning lady rescuing a kitten if it happens in her uniform.

I understand opposing war, but are you going little over the board?

A tad unfair to Firemen who are far more likely to be rescuing kittens than the millatery.

Yes, down vote lest you suffer to read an opinion you don't like.

Here's another point on this: http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2010/03/23/slavoj-zizek/green-bere...

Sure, this is being used to build JSF's, but really it is a romanticization of American production-- an antidote to the "nothing is made here" nonsense that has become popular these days.

This nonsense can also be fought with simple facts. Depending on how you count it, the US manufactures either the 1st or 2nd most amount of stuff in the world. It's just that we do it with drastically less people and with robots now instead. The US manufactures more things now than it ever has before.

"Nothing to do with the article at all" -- read the last three paragraphs of the article.

I anticipate that there will be many more similar articles and pieces in the coming months and people will suggest that the war was a blessing in disguise because it was the "only thing" that could bring American manufacturing back to life.

You are laughably uninformed. None of the major weapon systems that require big manufacturing were impacted at all by the war.

The Navy isn't cranking out more aircraft carriers, destroyers, or submarines. And they just announced they are retiring all of their cruisers early.

The Air Force lost most of it's F22 and the JSF is on the ropes. Neither got cranked up to support the wars of the last 11 years.

The Army barely got to use its M1 battle tanks and hasn't built any extra. The Bradley is in the same boat. Some of the other vehicles like the Stryker and the mine resistant trucks and upgraded HUMVEES might have gotten increased production, but those are small potatoes in terms of cost.

The Marines lost their new vehicle in the last 10 years (the expeditionary fighting vehicle).

Other than the army light vehicles and UAVs (again, small potatoes, a submarine costs $5-7 billion each) I don't see anything that has been increased by the wars. And general manufacturing and defense manufacturing are basically entirely seperated these days. There are no ship builders pumping out both commercial and military ships. As far as I know, there are no companies pumping out tanks and cars. Aircraft are the only area with overlap.

I think that the wars must have at least contributed to some justification for maintenance of the current armament level.

But I was talking about when the planned World War III gets kicked into high gear towards the end of this year, as false-flags or other actions force Iran to defend itself, and Russia and China are then morally obligated to get involved.

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