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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?

possumdag - 06:22pm Oct 6, 2001 EST (#10164 of 10185)
"Bloke at work, doing the best he can." Powell

The Statue of Liberty has made an offer to suckle Afghanistan at the breast. A boney ribby kid, half smacked. Both terror and terraine. Blocked in antiquity with teenage fears. Will she come good again?

Would that GWalkerB invitation be extended to Palestine.

rshowalter - 07:07pm Oct 6, 2001 EST (#10165 of 10185)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

So many reasonable, miraculous things are happening, that even that might happen. But the Palestinians would have to make some accomodations -- learn what "win-win" solutions are like.

I felt so good, after my nap, that I took my dog out to a nice lake, walked five miles, and was offered soup by some camping Boy Scouts. Had a little. Good stuff. First time out there in ages. Feel relaxed. Beautiful fall day. Feel hopeful. Things may get better.

Felt good about this: Secretary Rumsfeld made some sensible statements on television, it seemed to me. Said we couldn't defend everything - - but had to be sure we could act in ways that deter. Said something about proportionality. Sounded good to me.

Missiles aren't the only way to do act in defense, and to protect national interests, and neither are bombers. You need other things, and if other things are used well, maybe you don't want to use missiles and bombers at all. Though maybe, of course, in a few spots.

rshowalter - 07:48pm Oct 6, 2001 EST (#10166 of 10185)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Before September 11, I was routinely setting out NYT articles on Missile Defense for week periods - - something that I thought might make the thread valuable to historians and scholars, since the topic was one of historical interest.

My own postings are not very distinguished, but the articles that are printed in The New York Times are both distinguished and influential. Worth recording together, I believe.

The last of those listings of NYT articles was on September 9th, and links to a discussion of the reason for these postings, and weeks these listings covered. . . . MD8711 rshowalter 9/9/01 4:24pm

Since September 11th, I have not done this archival work on a timely basis - - and one attempt to do so, that involved some over-reaching, was removed, for reasons that may have been appropriate.

Tomorrow, in the morning, I intend to do the following - - and want Armel and the TIMES to know my intentions (intentions I wont carry out if forbidden.)

I intend to post an incomplete, but still extensive listing of NYT articles on Missile Defense since September 9th. With links included to those articles published within the last week, but not those published before.

Ill put the links for the last week in clickable form that would take a user a little work to extract, as in the following example.

September 8, 2001
The Bush Merry-Go-Round
Washington is aflutter with speculation about the rising and falling fortunes of President Bushs quartet of top national security advisors.

If I'm not to do this, could Armel please tell me so? If I am not to post the links in a lasting form, can I post them so that they can be available for a few hours, so organizations, if interested organizations exist, might have them?

possumdag - 09:00pm Oct 6, 2001 EST (#10167 of 10185)
"Bloke at work, doing the best he can." Powell

"The US has to learn that its worst enemy is the US" Philip Adams see

possumdag - 09:08pm Oct 6, 2001 EST (#10168 of 10185)
"Bloke at work, doing the best he can." Powell

A whistle blower re a pharmacutical company incident gets $150m see, so on the scale of comparative rank values one recent bounty seems scant.

possumdag - 09:29pm Oct 6, 2001 EST (#10169 of 10185)
"Bloke at work, doing the best he can." Powell

.. there's at least one US face which can still appear on television or the front page without generating a sense of overkill, irritation or cultural invasion. Amid the hawks and doves, the temperate and the hysterical, there's a consistently acceptable voice. ..... Powell is one of a comparatively rare species to get copious media attention: he's closer than many might suppose to being apolitical. ... able to strike the right tone in delicate, personal matters of that nature because he's not timid, tentative, overbearing or self-important. ... There's a metaphorical sign over Powell's public persona which, sort of, says:
"Bloke at work, doing the best he can." see

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense