When the Sixth Fleet struck at Libyan air-defense batteries and patrol boats a fortnight ago without suffering a single casualty, America's top military brass celebrated more than just a victory over Muammar Gaddafi. The Pentagon offered the Navy's demonstration of high-tech firepower as a telling retort to an increasingly restive band of congressional critics who accuse the military of building "gold-plated" weapons that will turn out to be duds in combat. Like Libya's radar transmitters, the Pentagon's detractors were silenced, but only for the moment.
Early action reports from the Gulf of Sidra claimed that half a dozen of Libya's Soviet-made...
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