A War in Which Nothing Worked
by David Loftus
[This essay first appeared in the Roseburg (Oregon)
News-Review, November 29, 1988.]
I was shocked to learn my old college buddy Frank was working for a defense contractor.
In school he had been the epitome of the campus radical: marches against the Vietnam War, protests on behalf of unions and migrant workers, seminars on feminism and nuclear issues. You know the type.
And now he was an engineer, working on missiles, B-1 bombers, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. It didn't make sense.
"After years of marches and sit-ins and media events, I saw that we just didn't accomplish that much," he told me. "We made a big splash in public, but behind the scenes our tax dollars kept on going to weapons of death.
"The bombers were rolling off production lines, the War Department (I refuse to dignify it with the absurd moniker of 'Defense') continued to come up with new ways to kill people, and contractors were getting ever more wealthy building instruments for the end of the world."
As for himself, he said, there wasn't much material security in being openly opposed to government policies. Frank was tired of living in fleabag apartments and eating out of cans. He wanted a piece of the action.
"As I studied the new weapons systems, I saw an opportunity to end war by working on the inside and at the same time make a better life for myself," he went on.
"The idea first occurred to me when I saw all the trouble they were having with the F-16 fighter jet at the end of the 1970s. It was so immensely complicated that the number of tiny parts that could break and keep planes on the ground meant they were out of action more than half the time. And they're so expensive that the U.S. fleet is constantly shrinking: we buy fewer planes for more money.
"This year, you may have seen the news stories about B-1 bombers, which are grounded so often they're referred to as 'hangar queens.' They are so complicated that it will take another seven years to train the crews. And you may have noticed on the news that two of the prototypes have crashed in the past month.
"Reagan said the B-1 was going to bridge the gap between B-52s and the new Stealth bomber, but the B-1 fleet won't be ready until the mid-1990s. Stealth will probably be 20 years late as well.
"Now the nuclear plants that supply material for our missiles are getting closed down for safety violations. We're effectively disarming the country while making everyone think they are buying greater security. My goal is to construct weapons that are so complex they will approach 100 percent downtime!"
What about Star Wars, I asked. Are you doing the same thing there?
"It's common knowledge the Star Wars will never work," he said with a grin. "The program was never intended for war with the Russians; it's the latest weapon in the U.S. government's war against the Americans.
"Reagan needed something so magical and exotic that it would pique the voters' interest enough to justify shelling out more billions, especially after the scandals of the $600 hammers and toilet seats.
"It's getting harder and harder to scare people into putting up the money for killer machines, so Star Wars was a brilliant innovation in the campaign to keep the military and defense industry in business.
"As for me," he concluded, "I'm doing great. I'm making a lot of money while doing something to ensure world peace at the same time."
But you're leaving the United States defenseless, I protested. What if the Russians find out?
"The Russians have always had rotten technology," Frank replied. "Our government continuously lies about the numbers and effectiveness of Soviet forces to keep dollars going to our weapons systems.
"But we are also making contact with Russian scientists at international conferences so they'll start working in the same direction we are. Our hope is that we can get the Soviet military-industrial complex working toward total ineffectiveness too.
"Remember how we used to say, what if they gave a war and nobody came?" Frank asked. "Trouble is, there's always people willing to make death machines if you pay 'em enough, and patriotic Americans who buy all that mush about killing for peace.
"So now we have a new maxim: Suppose they gave a war and nothing worked?"