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Missile Defense

Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

gisterme - 08:05pm May 7, 2001 EST (#3460 of 3480)

rshowalter: "...The analogies you're offering don't begin to fit what was done..."

Face it Robert, the principal is identical, and as you hoped, easy for even a little child to understand.

I gave no analogy for the second period of the beer crisis where you do what you feel you need to do to get the beer back...while I'm carefully protecting it and looking around to see who else's beer I can snag... :-)

possumdag - 08:05pm May 7, 2001 EST (#3461 of 3480)
Possumdag@excite.com

Russia 'freed' the satallite states (behind the iron curtain) at the close of the war .. not wanting a powerful Europe to rise up with another Hitler tin-pot dictator who might set out to take Russia.

The communists elected in these countries went with the USSR becoming allies. (Power Greed and Corruption was the cement that held it all together).

rshowalter - 08:06pm May 7, 2001 EST (#3462 of 3480)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

It would be wonderful to get nuclear weapons down. For technical reasons, missile defense won't have any part of it in the forseable future.

I spent the day rereading the part of this Missile Defense thread that involves interaction with "almartstel_2001" who I believe, some way or another, represents Russian viewpoints well. If the United States would stop threatening other nations -- peace - including total - or almost total -- nuclear disarmament, looks possible.

It would be greatly to the advantage of the United States. The m-i complex would, in fact, have plenty to do. But things would have to be negotiated on the basis of distrust, which is what characterizes militaries, and must into stable arrangments.

Current levels of deception would have to come way down -- or I don't see how a solution would be possible.

rshowalter - 08:10pm May 7, 2001 EST (#3463 of 3480)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Let me go ahead and post -- it may take ten minutes or so - - to give you a sense of the effort already expended -- and ground covered. The Russians want peace and so, I believe, would China, and Iraq, and Iran, and even N. Korea -- if we could proceed with a little sophistication, and a little grace.

After the pages give a sense of the amount of conversation that's gone on -- we can go on talking. But somebody, who knows a lot about Russia, wants peace badly , and shows a lot of good sense, and good faith.

rshowalter - 08:18pm May 7, 2001 EST (#3464 of 3480)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Cast of characters -- a "PUTIN STAND-IN" -- almarstel2001 (1)

In 3353: rshowalter 5/6/01 10:55am "Cast of characters -- gisterme .. " I wrote this, and repeated it in 3367: "Cast of characters -- beckq - cookiess0

Now, I'm not saying that "almarstel_20001" is anybody in particular. But he's acting as a "stand in" for Putin's role -- and I would not be surprised if he knows a considerable amount about how Putin thinks.

Between Sept. 25 and March 1, Dawn and I did a lot of work, with the help of other posters, too. That work was summarized, with many links in six postings:
813-818: rshowalter 3/1/01 4:08pm

In 827: armel7 3/4/01 3:04pm ... it was suggested that I wait for some "fresh blood" -- and I said "yes sir ! ". And the Amarstal20001 made his first posting, and a very impressive one:
829: almarstel2001 3/5/01 12:17am ..., which stars :

" As I see it, the US military wants the NMD out of frustration and fear to face the situation, when its tremendous adwantage in power will be useless against anyone who posesses even a single nuclear missle capable to reach the US and who may be ready to commit suiside in case of aggression.

and ends with a key question:

" Who would trust the dishonest arrogant and brutal superpower bully run amok?"

842: almarstel2001 3/5/01 9:53pm ..... 855: almarstel2001 3/7/01 3:48pm starts and ends:

" If, as you say, Americans feel vulnerable, can you imagine how the rest of the world must feel? And in great deal thanks to America! . . . . . . . And, while most developed countries reduced their military expendetures after the Cold War, US keep them huge - more then 10 next greatest militaries combined. . . . . . . . . . It is the rest of the world which fears America, not the other way around.

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