I can't believe nobody wanted to comment on this, while everybody's commenting on the item below.

On the other hand, Kling's points are self-evidently right.

Professor,
If,by skunkworks, you mean blackops, then I"m sure your right. In spite of CNN's best efforts the real war is not on TV, nor are the real heros. I got to talk to some recent returnees from Afganistan (special forces) and the only thing I learned was "..it's nice to have a hot shower again, and yes I'll have another beer."
It's nice to know there's still "pros" in place. If there are any better than these guys, I haven't heard of them!
Bob in the hills

Prof, I hope you're right. Unfortunately, I don't have that much faith in the military. I can see them now, "OK, we've got direction to form a tiger team to handle this. OK, who's our Air Force guy? I nominate Bill, he's a fast-burner, going places, and his 1 year experience in fighter jets will allow him to handle the discussions about high altitude bombing. Plus his tour in the Thunderbirds is just about over, and we need to give him a really good job so he can get promoted. This is excellent Performance Report fodder."

No faith in the military? Are we talking about the same military that pacified Afghanistan ("the graveyard of empires") in two months, adjusted to its surroundings by fighting on horseback, and helped install a relatively pro-Western government? Come on. All of our public agencies should work as well, or be as efficient.

I'm with Pejman and Bob here. I think that the "skunkworks" that will defeat Al-Qaida and their allies is in the DIA - the Defence Intelligence Agency. The DIA has a better reputation for clear-headed analysis than the CIA does. In addition, since the DIA is actually inside the military, they can get time-sensitive info to the troops more quickly. Not to mention the fact

Brute force won't work against A-Q. We've got to be more smarter and more supple than A-Q to win the war. All hail the Defence Intelligence Agency.

if a fly boy only had one year behind the stick.. he would be a lieutenant and would not be selected to plan a major campaign. but i'm sure you weren't striving for accuracy in your critizism.. just sarcasm.. at any rate, you are way off base and IMO out of line to put down our military after the long string of successes we have put together.