Editorials
Tuesday, August 26, 1997PREPARING the armed forces for the challenges of the 21st century requires more than simply perpetuating the tactics of the past. Yet that is what the Pentagon seems to be doing. A highly qualified critic, Army Lt. Gen. (Ret). William E. Odom, charges that the aircraft carrier has become obsolete as a means of bringing air power to bear on enemy targets. He asserts that the Defense Department ought to concentrate on land-based aircraft. The era of the aircraft
carrier may be endingOdom, director of national security studies at the Hudson Institute, presents his arguments in an article in Foreign Affairs quarterly. With modern technology permitting long-range flights, he says, carrier-based air support takes longer to deploy than ground-based planes "and has only a fraction of the air strike capability at a much higher cost."
For example, he writes, an air force wing of about 70 fighter-bombers can move from Germany or the United States to the Persian Gulf within 24 hours; a carrier can require three days to a week, and provides 40 ground attack aircraft "that are far less capable."
The general observes, "...a carrier-based aircraft is the most expensive way to deliver a bomb to a target. When aircraft could fly at most 300 miles round-trip, floating airports made sense. Today, when fighters and strategic bombers can fly across oceans in less than a day, the case for carriers is weak."
Despite these considerations, Odom says the Defense Department plans to spend $260 billion over the next 10 years to sustain carrier groups and their aircraft and half as much -- $126 billion -- on land-based tactical planes. The Pentagon has allocated $152 billion for procurement of carrier-based air power and just $56 billion for ground-based planes.
The aircraft carrier emerged as a vital weapon in World War II in the Pacific after the destruction of the Pacific Fleet's battleships at Pearl Harbor. But that was half a century ago. Aircraft carriers have gotten a lot bigger and more expensive since but they serve essentially the same purpose.
As we approach the new century, with new technology available, the aircraft carrier may be a dinosaur, one that the Defense Department can hardly afford to preserve in an era of military downsizing.
THERE'S more to a federal official's decision to order a new election for the Teamsters presidency than alleged violations in a previous election. Also involved is a suspected link between the Ron Carey campaign and the Democratic Party. The order for a new election came just days after the successful conclusion of the Teamsters' strike against United Parcel Service. Teamsters election
For many years the Teamsters supported Republican candidates. Under Carey, who was first elected in 1991, they have backed the Democrats. The allegations surrounding Carey's election indicate that the Teamsters' bad habits that sent three former presidents to prison may not have been cured under this alleged reformer.
EVER since Munich, the threat of terrorism has hung over the Olympic Games and forced the organizers to impose strict security measures. Now bombs have been going off in Sweden before the Olympics, in an apparent attempt to sabotage Sweden's bid to host the games. Olympic explosions
The president of the Swedish Olympic bid committee said he wondered whether foreign opponents of Sweden's bid could have set off the explosions, citing the Swedish tradition of nonviolence. If so, it would be downright unsporting of them.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
