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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

lchic - 03:19pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11733 of 11756)

WYNNE, Professor Brian Lancaster
Spoke of Nations having a National GUT FEELING.

The USA has a National Gut Feeling re Enron - it stinks!

Were the many aspects of MD including the conflict of interest re Bush-theSon and Bush-theCarlyelFather truely brought into public focus - together with the reasons why the cold war hasn't ended ... it would surely rankle! lunarchick 8/20/01 8:31pm

rshow55 - 03:20pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11734 of 11756)

"Does the USA need a clearly stated long term vision with respect to WORLD PEACE?"

It does. Right now, it hasn't thought the matter through.

That's part of the reason that some people are so desperate for "missile defense" -- grasping at straws, hoping against hope.

We need to find security and a peace in ways that can work.

Ideas like "deterrence" and "stability" and "communication" and "the golden rule" would come into play, and could be more focused to circumstances than they now are.

lchic - 03:26pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11735 of 11756)

Reading Zell Miller - one wonders if the averageUSAJoe regards nukes as 'guns' .. not appreciating their non-viability re use.

Perhaps other countries ought to band together and make Nuke-holding countries pay an annual insurance-against nuke destruction insurance premium. The cost of the premium might be such that Nuke countries would want to UN_NUKE!

There has to be something supporting peace from :
Laws - common, intraState, InterState, National, InterNational, World Law with agreements and conventions.

That the USA is 'above' the law - with respect to (wrt) international agreements (including climate change) ... is a factor that also rankles.

rshow55 - 03:33pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11736 of 11756)

It rankles, and Americans who hold them haven't been asked to think through their positions consistently.

Great points from almarst - - related to questions a lot of people in other countries reasonably have.

MD11631 almarst-2001 2/19/02 2:08pm ... MD11669 almarst-2001 2/20/02 8:40pm
MD11672 almarst-2001 2/20/02 9:08pm ... MD11714 almarst-2001 2/21/02 10:38pm

These questiosn deserve real attention.

Now if somebody with a big name, such as Putin, asked these questions of real leaders, including American Senators and Representatives - - that would be interesting !

lchic - 03:36pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11737 of 11756)

Oil was selected as the 'medium of exchange' re locomotion with the advent of the Automobile. It's said that cars might have been powered by other means ... some have been and are (steam, solar, gas etc).

Non-oil power is now been looked at wrt RENEWABLE ENERGY. The visions and plans of Nations now involve the reduction of fuels that give-off pollutants. Energy from wind, wave, and sun - can be captured, various engines are under construction wrt Renewable Energy.

This is good, because CLIMATE change is happening, and some pacific islands believe they will be lost to the Ocean. ( These islands are sad that Australia blindly follows and support USA policy rather than look at what Oceania requirements should be. )

Energy requires vision and LONG TERM PLANNING. The life of conventional power plants is apparently only 25years .. and all will come up for replacement.

Nuclear Power Plants ... governments can neither SELL nor GIVE AWAY ... they are beset with LONGTERM PROBLEMS.

lchic - 03:41pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11738 of 11756)

Nation States may have failed to ASK QUESTIONS re the validity of Nukes-MD .. because they too had a stake in the bluffs and deception.

Now the scientific world are starting to speak out and devalue MD, then, now is the time for influencial gatherings to happen and QUESTION, to find and REPORT on FINDINGS.

The position of some USA-government aligned posters on this thread re MD has been - trust us (have FAITH) .. but not based on FACT .... 'trust us we know best!

A position that can not be taken in this modern age of enlightenment!

rshow55 - 03:49pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11739 of 11756)

I don't think people understand how much the Cold War suppressed patterns of checking in America.

There was secrecy on military projects before, of course -- but it was a new and special thing in Eisenhower's time.

Now, we take it for granted to an extent that would have amazed a lot of people, including Eisenhower, who felt deeply about "American ideals" that are now deeply compromised.

We need to end the Cold War, as it continues to go on - and repair some damage.

EASY questions -- for example, questions about the technical difficulties of missile defense - would be a place to start.

rshow55 - 03:53pm Feb 22, 2002 EST (#11740 of 11756)

Early in the Cold War, there was a conscious effort to "scare the Hell out of the American people" - - and it was thoroughly done.

Some of the fears, now deeply built into our usages, ought to be re-examined. Some of them are getting in our way - and reducing our real security.

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