There must be times when executives at Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman wish they had the same options as Boeing and United Technologies, given the frequently capricious behavior of their military customer (both are currently battling unexpected Pentagon moves to cut back or kill key weapons programs).
That brings me to the politics surrounding the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which present something of a case study in how senior policymakers must approach proposals to kill or cut back big weapons programs.
When farmers use Roundup, which is considered a mild herbicide, instead of other harsher chemicals to kill weeds, they actually cut down on overall toxic chemical use.
Studies have found handwashing to cut risk of diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia by half, which otherwise kill a combined two million children a year.