New York Times on the Web Forums Science

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.

gisterme - 03:18am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9157 of 9164)

bbbuck - 12:35am Feb 18, 2003 EST (9059 of...)

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.DWgdaEvx3Uc.1760605@.f28e622/10585

"...the gulf war, or the reconquering of Kuwait, started, after Saddam Hussein thought he could invade Kuwait and that the world would let him get away with it.

Then he blew up all the oil wells..."

That's pretty much the way I remember it too, bbbuck and you make a good point.

If acquisition of oil resources had been the motivation of that war, then why weren't any oil fields "confiscated"?

As a matter of fact, it was largely through the efforts of private US compnies that the Kuwaiti oil well fires started by Saddam were extinguished. It was Saddam who tried to deprive Kuwait of its primary source of income. Saddam failed in that effort. I wonder why people like almarst never seem to remember such little details?

As I recall, naysayers, including the distinguished Carl Sagan, prior to the firing of the Kuwaiti oil fields, were saying that the fires would burn for decades and would even cause a "nuclear winter" effect if Saddam burned the wells. That's why (they said) Saddam should be allowed to take over Kuwait. They were wrong.

The Gulf War coalition could have easily crushed Saddam back then and occupied Iraqi oil fields. They didn't.

Acquisition of oil resources by foreign nations has never been a primary issue in the friction with Saddam. If it were, those oil fields would have been occupied long ago.

lchic - 03:19am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9158 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Annual budget for United Nations is ....

Annual budget for USA war-wartoys-warmongering .......

Gisterme --- the figures here please!

lchic - 03:21am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9159 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

MONOPOLY - not Mayfair ... OIL WELLS

seems the USA got oil wells from Briton after WWII

and the USA is going to give the KURDS OIL WELLS to TURKEY .... post Iraq-bash

and when Kurdistan was split-up in 1922 ... it did want to reform as the Kurdistan Nation ...

now if Turkey have their oil ....

what chance do they have?

lchic - 03:23am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9160 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

GU Talk "" Filthy Warmongering Repugnicans are Destroying the Earth and Making the Whole World A Potential Warzone!!!

http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?50@@.4a90cc9a/0

gisterme - 03:24am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9161 of 9164)

almarst2002 - 07:01am Feb 18, 2003 EST (9063 of...) <a href="/webin/WebX?14@28.DWgdaEvx3Uc.1760605@.f28e622/10590">almarst2002 2/18/03 7:01am</a>

"Some people exist in a different "dimensions"..."

Hmmm. What different dimensions do you exist in, almarst?

lchic - 03:27am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9162 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Who ever helped someone by carpet bombing them?!

a gem from the above thread (post 24)

lchic - 03:29am Feb 21, 2003 EST (# 9163 of 9164)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Almast exists in the cyber dimension

(1 following message)

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense