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Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

rshowalter - 08:38am Jun 13, 2001 EST (#4983 of 4984)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Almarst , you have an important case to make -- and it needs to be made, so that it persuades, and fits with the known facts, in the complicated, compromised world we live in.

If that case is effectively made, throughout the world -- then the chances of a secular redemptive solution, for all concerned, and much greater peace and hope all over the world, becomes real.

If the US faced up to what it has done -- so everyone could be "reading from the same page" -- and a reasonable number of proactive steps were taken -- we'd have real peace. According to interests widely shared.

I thought your MD4968 almarst-2001 6/12/01 11:30pm . . . was tremendously impressive -- and that it needs to be reconciled, at the level of fact, with the arguments of Midmoon and others, including sometimes, gisterme.

In Bush Defends His Policies on First Day of Europe Visit by DAVID STOUT http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/12/world/12CND-BUSH.html

Bush said this:

" Europe and the United States are united by a single set of fundamental values, and with that unity, there is much we can accomplish,"

It needs to become true -- in ways that can be checked - and with everyone "reading from the same page" about the facts that matter.

Almarst, if only you WERE closely connected to the Russian government ! One leader of a nation state, with a few phone calls, might be able to raise the money required to MAKE the necessary cases, so that they were solid, and easily checked, using mechanisms illustrated on this thread. It would be a few millions perhaps -- enough for serious staffing -- and it could be done.

It would have to involve a number of interests - it couldn't be an obscure talk thread, tucked away in one newspaper.

We need to get some things to closure. From time to time, there will have to be umpiring -- George Johnson (aka Dirac) illustrates the discourse techniques that can keep anything from closure -- and those techniques need to be contained. It takes some staffing. Not much, but some.

almarst, you say something very important in MD4968:

" My whole goal is to find out how many of your kind live in this country and to what extend they shape up the US policy and influence the "American way of life" as was shown in Iraq and Yugoslavia.

" My sad conclusion is - very many and very strong, covering the whole spectrum from "left" to "right". I wish I am wrong. But I do not think any reasonable and honest people around the world can that easily discard this dreadful possibility.