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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?

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rshow55 - 09:08am Aug 15, 2003 EST (# 13310 of 13310)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

I'm wrong about things, sometimes. Working on techniques of problem solving - and showing them in action - I expect that. I make mistakes, and so do others. Even when they "tell a story" that has a lot of coherence.

People are never "entirly right" from every point of view when they are making broad predictions - and almarst was partly wrong on April 1 - but partly right. http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sNwab5qDyCK.3456222@.f28e622/12446

" This war was LOST even BEFORE it actually started. "

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.sNwab5qDyCK.3456222@.f28e622/12446 was wrong in key spots - but worth attending to - asking - "how could this be right - how wrong" - as a step in decision making. Almarst has often said things very much worth attending to.

. We're in a mess now. Have to fix it. From where we are. It doesn't help to fantasize - when we should face things.

For real messes, the only hope is to fully understand the things that need to be done - as they are - and what happened - as it actually happened. Nothing else has any reasonable chance - barring miracles.

Yesterday's editorial had a lot straight:

White House Fantasies on Iraq http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/14/opinion/14THU1.html

An implausibly upbeat White House progress report on Iraq ignores the reality of continued insecurity, failing basic services and painstakingly slow political progress.

Without good judgement - complex interconnected problems that start going bad usually go from bad to worse. Unless and until they are adequately understood, and sensibly dealt with.

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense