Just how many nasty countries are there? There's only one that MIGHT possibly have a chance of attacking us with a missile, and that's North Korea. The Chinese won't because, like a loan shark, you don't kill the guy who owes you money, you slap him around till he pays you back. The Russians won't. They can't even guarantee that their stuff works anymore. The Iranians? The Israelis should worry, if Iran doesn't collapse into civil war in the next three years.
We don't need to spend 8 billion on missile defense to protect ourselves from Kim Jong Il. Hell, the mob paid what--$50,000 plus hotel to whack Kennedy. I should think we can take care of Kim for a reasonable amount, even acounting for inflation.

Well, we're not looking for a all-things-to-all-people approach here, so a cheap, reliable one-trick-pony will do nicely.
To my knowledge, 'ground loiter' has never been used operationally. Having said that, a STOL aircraft that could operate out of smaller bases like Jalabad, AF would be very appreciated. That puts it much closer to the fight (in RC East, in this case) than Bagram, but still has a hardened airfield with modern (enough) facilities from which to work.

Greg--with CROWS II, the technology for remotely operated weapon stations is pretty mature. Heck, other western services have been doing it for years. The FCS main tank was supposed to have a completely automated turret.

So you have an issue with President Bush, who has said that there were no WMDs in Iraq, then?