Dave, I really don't understand your resentment in this regard. It's exactly the same feeling that others have towards us in GA who fly around burning AvGas and Jet A. It's identical to the theories about why business jets shouldn't exist.
I do agree that in many cases there was probably an ego trip going on. The thing is (like business jets), there are cases where it's worth the money and outlay. If there's something going on in Europe that's held up at a cost of $100,000/day (which does happen), then it's worth it to pay $10,000 to get someone there who can fix the problem. Same with business jets.
Either way, the fleet is retired now. I did hate having them take off. Those things used to fly over the shop I worked at. Way to darn loud.