■"Rocker Jeff Baxter Moves and Shakes In National Security: Once With Doobie Brothers, Now in Counterterrorism, He Has Ear of Pentagon," by Yochi J. Dreazen, Wall Street Journal, 24 May 2005, p. A1.

■"Pentagon Aims to Keep 'Jammers' Current: Procurement Process Delays New Defense Against Insurgents' Remote-Detonated Devices," by Greg Jaffe, Wall Street Journal, 24 May 2005, p. A4.

When the Black Box a' rockin', don't come a' knockin' . . .

I love these periodic articles on Jeff Baxter. They're just so cool and hip and fascinating and . . . completely off target.

I have no doubt the man is smart, although I can't say I've met him, read anything he's written, heard any arguments he's made besides "missile defense is good" or really heard anyone mention his influence or impact in 15 years of working in this business. But hey, it's a huge field and the missile defense crowd is about as insular as it gets (also about as inbred as it gets, as analysts there spend careers talking to the same cast of characters-many of them as colorful as "Skunk," and frankly, with far goofier names).

But frankly, jamming missiles isn't our big security issue today, despite the constant howling of the missile defense crowd, and it ain't about terrorists striking America. It's about keeping our SysAdmin troops alive day-in and day-out in places like Iraq.

When my young nephew runs convoy protection duty in coming months, what'll keep him alive is our ability to jam simple cellphone signals to remote bombs planted along the roads.

I say, if the Skunk is so clever (and who the hell am I to disagree with a front-page profile in the WSJ!-cut immediately to Tom standing proudly next to his framed edition), put him on a job that really matters-now. Cause it's minute by minute by minute by minute . . . right now in Iraq.