This weapon system has always reminded me of that suborbital attack vehicle for commandos we talked about here a few weeks ago. No one is denying the advantages of this infantry delivery system, but its cost greatly negates that. It may be just the thing for certain high-value missions, like a raid on Ossama's headquarters, or a hostage rescue deep in enemy territory, but it seems to make little sense for routine troop movements.

Howver, even though I know economists say it is pointless throwing good money after bad, my instinct tells me with all the cash we've already sunk into this turkey it may be worth taking a chance and finally deploying it. Now that we finally have it up and running, it will get tested thorougly in Iraq, and either prove itself or turn out to be a waste, as you suspect. Still, I don't think it will have much of an effect on this conflict. It's a highly specialized weapon and can only pay for itself in certain types of missions.