The latest addition to the already $1.7 trillion “War on Terror” is a $43 million gas station in Afghanistan that should have cost around $500,000.

While in the middle of a trillion-dollar F-35 project, the Pentagon has committed to spend another $80 billion on a bomber it doesn’t need.

The Pentagon has adopted a “law of war manual” [PDF], which enables commanders to treat journalists as “unprivileged belligerents.” It suggests that correspondents who report some information about combat operations may be taking “direct part in hostilities,” a disturbing argument for justifying the killing of reporters in war zones.

While Congress debates cutting Social Security, the most expensive weapons program in history — with an estimated lifetime cost of $1.5 trillion — is making questionable progress. The US Marine Corps recently announced that, after 14 years of development, the F-35 is ready to be deployed and issued a declaration