The View From There: In a thoughtful commentary printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, a New Jersey Air National Guard F-16 pilot tells why he believes in America as a “good, decent, and moral country” that must finish the job in Iraq, where “the vast majority of Iraqi people” want our aid to help them achieve “peace and happiness.” During his service in Iraq over the past two months, Maj. Kevin Kelly took time to visit the American hospital at Balad Air Base, where he talked with wounded US troops and Iraqis—citizens, soldiers, and police—injured in a recent car-bomb blast. He also saw in another ward US medics caring for “the very animals” that commit such terrorist attacks.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
