Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Latest Iraq Casualties -- Jobs at Lockheed Martin

The Pentagon will cut the Air Force's F-22 Raptor program. The high tech plane was designed to take out the Soviet Air Force in a matter of days in the event of WWIII. The Cold War era fighter is a victim of escalating costs of the Iraq War. The Pentagon wants to stop the program at 160 planes, 117 short of the original order they put in with Lockheed Martin. Congress still has to approve the cuts, and the Raptor has dodged plenty of bullets since the fall of Communism. Lockheed's lobbyists could put up quite a dogfight. But the Pentagon is looking for ways to pay the ever increasing cost of Iraq, and the $72 billion F-22 program is a choice place to look. (ABC)

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