<The Crusader is being developed by United Defense Industries Inc., a defense contractor controlled by the Carlyle Group, an investment firm led by Frank Carlucci, a former secretary of defense.

Members of Congress from Oklahoma, where the Crusader would be assembled, have vociferously defended the program.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., a member of the Armed Services Committee, issued a statement Wednesday saying the fight to save what he called the “crown jewel of our Army modernization program” would continue in Congress.



I think this pretty much says it all, doesn't it? I hope Rumsfeld succeeds in this. I'm no expert, but I personally can think of a lot of areas where military money might be better spent.

Unfortunately, many expensive military systems tend to end up in this "pork" category, and even if useful, end up horribly overpriced.

More unfortunately, the same goes for a lot of NASA projects.