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U.S. Refuses to Hand Over Fighter Source Code to UK
orbitalia writes "The UK is heavily involved in the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter program) but has recently considered abandoning the project because the US refuses to share the source code. The UK had intended to purchase $120 billion dollars worth of aircraft to operate on two new aircraft carriers, but is now seriously considering Plan 'B'. This is likely to be further investments in the Eurofighter Typhoon project." From the article: "It appeared that Tony Blair and George Bush had solved the impasse in May, when they announced an agreement in principle that the UK would be given access to the classified details on conditions of strict secrecy. The news was widely seen as evidence that the Prime Minister's close alliance with the American President did have benefits for Britain ... 'If the UK does not obtain the assurances it needs from the US then it should not sign the Memorandum of Understanding covering production, sustainment and follow-on development,' the MPs insisted."
As unpopular as any kind of ground strike other than laser-guided has become politically, I have to wonder why the UK or the US would continue to waste money on these machines. They are not as stealthy as the current F-117, which is apparently all that will be in use for some time to come. Close air support is no longer granted unless the target is in a location which can absolutely guarantee no collateral damage. This means that CAS is no longer granted. If you are lucky you might get a helo with a chaingun. What a waste of money from the budget of both countries.
Of course it's all up to Dubya who gets the source code. *rolls eyes*
The president doesn't directly make every decision the goverment makes.
Gone!
What happened to the buck stops here?
If this actually gets to the point where it needs to stop at the White House, then it will. This isn't one of those things (yet, if ever).
And why does Bush refer to himself as "the decider"?
Clearly context doesn't mean much to you, but of course you know that he used that phrase while speaking about a specific topic, indicating that another party wasn't going to be making a decision, he was. Just like when you get some unsolicited (or even asked-for) advice from someone else. You're still the one to decide on a course of action. If you don't have that juice, then you're not The Decider on that particular topic. Doesn't matter - you're presuming this is something that's already on the C-in-C's desk, and I'll bet that it's not... at least, not in any way that matters.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.