But it may also be because Mr Rumsfeld is halfway through a transformation of America's military, from a lumbering force of infantry and armoured divisions built to face the Soviets into a lighter, faster, supposedly smarter, technology-driven machine for the wars of tomorrow.

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His weapon: a rolling, 3-foot-tall machine (think R2-D2 from Star Wars) called the Xenex that bathes hospital rooms with intense, millisecond pulses of ultraviolet light from a high-wattage strobe light.

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The Star Wars franchise also meant big profits, an unstoppable Death-Star-sized money machine that has still never been matched in Hollywood history.

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