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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.

gisterme - 11:32pm Mar 11, 2003 EST (# 9840 of 9852)

lchic - 04:36am Mar 11, 2003 EST (# 9792 of ...) http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.0Db5ag5e5t2.1413038@.f28e622/11334

"Trade's the name of the game US is propping up..."

Civilization could not exist without trade. It also cannot contintue to exist if evil dictators become too powerful. The US has always supported trade has always resisted evil dictators who threaten civilization. What's the matter with that?

"...China and Russia and Israel A Right-Winger in France props up Saddam via trade..."

Ahh, there's the truth. However, they are now supporting Saddam by more than trade...and considering Saddam's past social performance and the fact that he has WMD, especially biological weapons, capable of disrupting not only the entire world's but also it's very civilizaion, I have to wonder why France, Russia, Germany and China would support him for any reason except self-service.

If a biological attack is launched by Iraq (or terrorists supplied by Iraq), entire nations will have to be quarantined (possibly for years) and international trade will stop. The potential human cost of such an attack is for millions or even hundreds of millions of people to die. Europe would likely fare far worse under quarantine contitions than the Western hemisphere.

That you would call Chirac a "right-winger" is revealing about the context of your political thinking, lchic. Except in socialist circles, Chirac would be considered an extreme left-winger. He and his political positions are certainly considered far-left by most here in the States.

"...The US had concerns re 'falling dominos' in SE Asia and propped up the former Indonesian rotten-leader..."

In a Cold War battle, back in the Cold War. Not now.

"...Throughout South America it has supported redundant regimes that should have been toppled..."

By communist revolutions? So that they could become Cubas too? Nope those were Cold War battles too.

"...to enable modernity and progress..."

That's right. Those SA regimes were temporarily supported so that their countries could have hope of modernity and progress...just as they are mostly experiencing now.

How modern and progressive is Cuba by the way? That's how "modern and progressive" those other SA nations would be if their communist revolutions had been allowed to succeed.

"...Statistic - 1 in 8 Iraqi children - die of malnutrition..."

Wow. And given that, France, Russia, Germany and China are willing to veto UN action to put a stop to it. Their unselfish moarality takes my breath away...or at least makes me hold my nose.

"...if say the Israelis had gone in with commercial rather than 'war' impetus?..."

If the Israelis had not defended themselves from the day that their nation was chartered by the UN there would be no Israelies today. There would only be scattered jews who had once again been displaced from their homeland.

lchic - 12:19am Mar 12, 2003 EST (# 9841 of 9852)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

How's it looking today? This was 1941 http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pha/pt_14/x14-033.html

lchic - 12:22am Mar 12, 2003 EST (# 9842 of 9852)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

GU | Just like the old days

Angola, Cameroon and Guinea are today dangling their security council votes in front of the British and French delegations in a display of brinkmanship reminiscent of the cold war ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,911906,00.html

lchic - 12:46am Mar 12, 2003 EST (# 9843 of 9852)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

MAUREEN - ' By Jove -- I think she's got it!'

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/12/opinion/12DOWD.html

gisterme - 02:41am Mar 12, 2003 EST (# 9844 of 9852)

mazza9 - 04:25pm Mar 11, 2003 EST (# 9823 of...) http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.0Db5ag5e5t2.1413038@.f28e622/11365

"...Now let's go get those nuts by the fence,..."

:-)

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