I'm surprised at the criticism the harrier gets in the article. They're popular in the UK and appeared to perform pretty well in the Falklands, for instance.
It is a UK developed plane and did do well in the Falklands-- a testament to the skill of British pilots as much as anything. In the U.S., one third of our Harrier fleet has crashed, here's the article cited in the parent:
There's a lot wrong with the harrier, though. It's pretty complicated and expensive to maintain, it doesn't have very good range, and it's safety record isn't great (though I admit the F-35B's is yet to be seen).