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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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gisterme - 12:02pm Oct 18, 2002 EST (# 5001 of 5007)

manjumicha 10/18/02 3:18am

"...The uniformed brass was in open revolt againt Rummy and Wolf..."

Open revolt??? First I've heard about that. What makes you think so? Got a link?

Yes, presidents listen if military brass is not happy with the secretary of defense...; but,it's up to the president, not the military brass to make the decision. It may have happened before, but I can't recall a time in my lifetime when the secretary of defense has ever been fired by the president that appointed him. General MacArthur once challeneged DOD and presidential policy... he wound up getting sacked not the secretary of defense. Military brass certainly hated Robert MacNamara but they couldn't push that worm out.

Those are a couple of real real-world examples that would seem to refute your unsubstantiated claim.

rshow55 - 12:38pm Oct 18, 2002 EST (# 5002 of 5007)
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.

The brass are not without power and influence - - I didn't think the claim unsubstantiated, as stated. But I do feel like making a posting responding to lchic 10/18/02 11:18am before dealing with some of your postings, gisterme .

rshow55 - 12:40pm Oct 18, 2002 EST (# 5003 of 5007)
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.

lchic 10/18/02 11:18am

http://www.tmtmetropolis.ru/stories/2002/10/18/113.html is a great step toward closer contact and sympathy between Russians and Americans - and vivid evidence of how much progress in that contact there has been - and how widely it is supported. As an American, I'm proud and glad to know of it.

4980 almarst2002 10/17/02 7:18pm - - is emphatic: almarst is tired of American lies. A lot of Americans are, too - though we can't hope to entirely eliminate them.

Lies are common - - and there are no leaders, or nation states - that tell only the truth.

If only reliable truth-tellers - only nondistorters - - can talk to each other - - or can be given limited and conditional trust for practical purposes - - where would we be?

The "obvious" things are often most important. It seems to me that if the following simple rhyme became a "nursery rhyme" - learned by 4 year olds and their parents -- the world would become a lot better. The rhyme has a lot to do with "connecting the dots" - and the fact that people, good as they are, aren't perfect.

Adults need secrets, lies and fictions
To live within their contradictions.

. . . . But when things go wrong
. . . . And knock about

. . . . Folks get together
. . . And work it out.

We're neither bright enough, nor good enough - to trust ourselves or anybody else - without concern for both errors, and more-or-less willful distortions.

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