A Glimpse of Secret Military Programs Through Patches

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. One tantalizing glimpse into this world of secret military programs comes from the real but often unofficial patches they use. Trevor Paglen has gathered 75 of them, revealing a bizarre mix of high and low culture where Latin and Greek mottos frame images of demons, dragons dropping bombs and skunks firing laser beams.