Black Ops

Well, you can't say Black Ops organizations don't have a sense of humor or esprit de corps as seen by the patches depicted above, courtesy of Trevor Paglen, the author of a fascinating new book titled:
I Could Tell You but Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World

When you consider just how big the budget is for Black Ops, the reason for all this joie de vive is rather obvious.

The classified budget of the Defense Department, concealed from the public in all but outline, has nearly doubled in the Bush years, to $32 billion. That is more than the combined budgets of the Food and Drug Administration, the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Those billions have expanded a secret world of advanced science and technology in which military units and federal contractors push back the frontiers of warfare. In the past, such handiwork has produced some of the most advanced jets, weapons and spy satellites, as well as notorious boondoggles.

What makes this NY Times article so interesting is the book's source of inspiration...

What sparked his interest, Mr. Paglen recalled, were Vice President Dick Cheney’s remarks as the Pentagon and World Trade Center smoldered. On “Meet the Press,” he said the nation would engage its “dark side” to find the attackers and justice. “We’ve got to spend time in the shadows,” Mr. Cheney said. “It’s going to be vital for us to use any means at our disposal, basically, to achieve our objective.”

God, I feel safer already! Don't you?

Addendum, Click on the image below to get a dose from The Space Review, this time, the focus in on Black Ops and the Final Frontier.