Stealth fighters are not that--they are stealth bombers.
You are comparing apple with oranges and making
loose comparisions that make little sense, like the
rest of your post.

The F-18 is a totally differenty type of aircraft.

Most American pilots in the Middle East are flying F-15's
and F-16's with thrust to weight ratios greater than 1, can
accellerate straight up. The F-18 is comparable technology
--which can by no means be compared to the F-4 Phantom
which is 1960's technology.

The F-15K is the best bird flying today, and flown by the
best pilots in the world..

The future?
The F-22, coming soon to a war near you.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-22.htm

Vito wrote

even the French! Thanks to GWB, American pilots are flying F-18s which
like
the Phantom are a good plane but decades old, instead of the latest
stealth
fighters.