Re: "Fortress America"
By Fortress America, I mean the ability to destroy any aircraft and/or ship coming within 1500 miles of our borders. Russia and China are both developing 5th generation fighters, Iran is placing missiles in Venezuela, And Russia has begun visiting them with ships and bombers. The 187 F-22s scheduled to be built are not going to be enough for the threats facing us in the coming decades.
Our military strength should be to the point that it puts fear into the hearts of anyone thinking of attacking us. Sure some lean combat formations are needed to handle the smaller more nebulous threats like terrorists, but the big stick should not be whittled down to a toothpick. We’re going to need it someday.