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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 - 06:09am Aug 5, 2002 EST (#3501 of 3510)
"America is a giant. But its political class often seems to have the mind of a child. And a giant with the mind of a child is very dangerous — not only to those amongst whom he roams — but to himself." George Galloway MP

The Bush administration sat on a Clinton-era plan to attack al-Qaida in Afghanistan for eight months because of political hostility to the outgoing president .....
^{http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,769398,00.html}
Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, was more interested in the national missile defence plan, and the new attorney general, John Ashcroft, was more interested in using the FBI to fight the "war on drugs" and clamping down on pornography. In August, he turned down FBI requests for $50m for the agency's counter-terrorist programme.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, appeals from the Northern Alliance's leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud, for more US aid fell on deaf ears. He was assassinated on September 9

lchic - 06:15am Aug 5, 2002 EST (#3502 of 3510)
"America is a giant. But its political class often seems to have the mind of a child. And a giant with the mind of a child is very dangerous — not only to those amongst whom he roams — but to himself." George Galloway MP

Georgia accused Russia yesterday of launching its third air attack on its territory in a week. Georgian border authorities said no one was hurt in the incident, but that three unexploded bombs had been found near the Russian border. The Russian air force said bad weather grounded all its planes in the region yesterday.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,2763,769266,00.html

(deja vu)

lchic - 08:27am Aug 5, 2002 EST (#3503 of 3510)
"America is a giant. But its political class often seems to have the mind of a child. And a giant with the mind of a child is very dangerous — not only to those amongst whom he roams — but to himself." George Galloway MP

Kill 'Em All

"Shoot all refugees coming across the river. All refugees are fair game." (orders to US army commanders in Korea)

As America spurns a new international court to deal with future war crimes, chilling evidence is emerging about US culpability in a past but not forgotten conflict.

For 50 years, South Korean villagers have insisted that American soldiers deliberately massacred hundreds of civilians during the Korean War. The Pentagon has denied the allegations.

But this BBC Timewatch film reveals orders from US commanders to treat Korean civilians as enemies. "All civilians moving around in combat zone will be considered as unfriendly, and shot," said one such instruction.

A US soldier recalls his commander telling him to machine-gun a group of about 50 refugees. "I said, 'we can't kill all these people,' and he pulled out his handgun, a .45, and pointed it at my head, he said, 'Kill 'em, you're directly disobeying a direct order in combat'."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/coldwar/korea_usa_01.shtml
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/01/26/200201260050.asp
http://elab.bus.umich.edu/~maasu/nogunri/sitemap.htm

The orders to kill refugee civilians were from 'the army' ... this was the era of McCarthy pre to Trueman plucking him out.

In 1999 the Pentagon looked into the matter - without enthusiasm.

The terror and injury of war on these civilians and the scars of war on USA forces personel made to kill them - would have had COST.

Seeing a film like this raises a question wrt the mindset of those who see war in simplistic terms.

lchic - 08:31am Aug 5, 2002 EST (#3504 of 3510)
"America is a giant. But its political class often seems to have the mind of a child. And a giant with the mind of a child is very dangerous — not only to those amongst whom he roams — but to himself." George Galloway MP

Forum

From: mort3 05/08/2002 22:21:54

Subject: the woman and her eye.... post id: 227

The image of that elderly korean woman recounting the incident about her eye falling out...

that will stay with me forever.... she alone should be a reason enough to end all wars...

mean for god's sake... a little girl asking her dying mother to pull out her dangling eye.... absolutley horrifying.

lchic - 08:39am Aug 5, 2002 EST (#3505 of 3510)
"America is a giant. But its political class often seems to have the mind of a child. And a giant with the mind of a child is very dangerous — not only to those amongst whom he roams — but to himself." George Galloway MP

Iraq - background GU
^{http://www.guardian.co.uk/theissues/article/0,6512,769517,00.html}

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