Dwane Powell's May 7 editorial cartoon was off target. The cartoon suggested that the money spent on the new USS North Carolina submarine was misdirected. The new submarine is actually important as a part of a broad national defense strategy.

The United States is strong militarily and economically in large part because we have a strong Navy, of which submarine power is a key component. Keeping our submarine fleet at the cutting edge is critical.

The point Powell misses is that the Bush administration's misguided and mismanaged fight against Iraq is the real cause of a bloated military budget and our failure to neutralize the al-Qaida terrorists. Hopefully the voters will vote in enlightened leadership in November that will focus on the actual terrorist threat, not on overthrowing two-bit dictators. Hopefully that new leadership will keep in mind that a strong military is in our continued national interest.

Jim Avery

Wake Forest