re: #134 Targetpractice

And that’s what it is, a solution in search of a problem. Much like those battleships we spent years and millions to design and build, only to white elephants we had to spend even more money protecting. And it all ended up being pointless because the Japanese spent the time to research and develop methods of bypassing the safeguards we put in place. By the time we’d dragged the bastards from the bottom, repaired them, and put them into service, we’d become an all-carrier navy and battleships never fulfilled the purpose they were designed for.

True, but those decisions must be made with the best-guess technological and political crystal balls available. Spending too much or too little in the face of uncertainty can kill a nation.