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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?

lunarchick - 10:39am Jun 19, 2001 EST (#5422 of 5461)
lunarchick@www.com

Standard procedures - fail the public ... raises parallels for MD

dmfitschen - 10:39am Jun 19, 2001 EST (#5423 of 5461)

SDI all over again? Pour funds into lucrative contracts to contactors in favored states. Drain the theoretical surplus and start the national deficit and debt soaring once again. Sounds like a wonderful, re-warmed plan.

pbrower2a - 10:47am Jun 19, 2001 EST (#5424 of 5461)

SDI again? A Maginot Line in space. We Americans would have to expend great resources to build it, and any clever enemy would find any weak spot possible. The successors of John Walker and Aldrich Ames will surely supply the devious enemy the needed information on weak links. A suitable trajectory for a missile launch could be as damaging to America as any secret of military technology or the identification of our secret agents abroad.

Research on missile defenses is of course justifiable because the thugs are out there. Finding some way to thwart a stray missile makes sense: how sure are we that no missile will not fire in error due to poor maintenance of the control system or the deranged behavior of someone in custody of it? SDI is not for counteracting a few stray missiles; it is for thwarting a mass attack.

It's also a huge commitment of government funds -- and of course federal taxes -- for a pork-barrel political project as a reward to the defense industry from Dubya for support in the 2000 Presidential election. That is about as despicable a political practice as one can imagine -- "give your support to my campaign, and if we win I will open the Treasury to you". Hardly a better way exists to destroy the integrity of government finance than such a practice. (So was corrupted the Roman Republic and so was destroyed the Roman Empire).

Twenty years ago the Reagan administration proposed SDI when the Soviet Union not only existed, but was also the "Evil Empire". SDI faded away as a military priority when the Soviet Union ceased being the "Evil Empire" and dropped completely out of view when the Soviet Union disappeared.

lunarchick - 10:52am Jun 19, 2001 EST (#5425 of 5461)
lunarchick@www.com

Did PUTIN make HIS point in the lead article ?

Is Putin a foxier FOX than GI's President Brush?

Tallyho! At the pow-wow .... exactly who was bloodied after the first kill?

killsfirst - 10:59am Jun 19, 2001 EST (#5426 of 5461)

HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB!

"But I also made it clear to [Vladimir Putin] that it's important to think beyond the old days of when we had the concept that if we blew each other up, the world would be safe."— Hapless and Hopeless AWOL Bush, Washington, D.C., May 1, 2001

PUTIN SAYS MISSLE SHIELD WILL SPARK NEW ARMS RACE!

Babbling AWOL Bush to the Russian President over the red phone: Hullo? ... Ah ... Hello, Vla... ah ... Hello, Vladimir? ... Listen, ah, I can't hear too well. Do you suppose you could turn down the music just a little? ... Oh-ho, that's much better. ... yeah ... ha ... yes ... Fine, I can hear you now, Vladimir. ... Clear and plain and coming through fine. ... I'm coming through fine, too, eh? ... Good, then ... well, then, as you say, we're both coming trough fine. ... Good. ... Well, it's good that you're fine and ... and I'm fine. ... I agree with you, it's great to be fine. ... a-ha-ha-ha-ha.

Now then, Vladimir, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the NMD. ... The NMD , Vladimir. ... The Nuclear Missle Defense ! ... Well now, what happened is ... ah ... one of our base commanders had a sort of ... well, he went a little funny in the head ... you know ... yes, he is a republican... just a little ... funny. And, ah ... he went and did a silly thing. ... Well, I'll tell you what he did. He ordered the NMD ... to attack your country... Ah... Well, let me finish, Vladimir. ... Let me finish, Vladimir. ... Well listen, how do you think I feel about it?! ... Can you imagine how I feel about it, Vladimir? ... Why do you think I'm calling? Just to say hello? ... Of course I like to speak to you! ... Of course I like to say hello! ... Not now, but anytime, Vladimir. I'm just calling up to tell you something terrible has happened... It's a friendly call. Of course it's a friendly call. ... Listen, if it wasn't friendly ... you probably wouldn't have even got it. ... They will not reach their targets for at least another 15 minutes. ... I am ... I am positive, Vladimir. ... Listen, I've been all over this with your ambassador. It is not a trick. ... Well, I'll tell you.

We'd like to give your air staff a complete run-down on the targets, the trajectories, and the defensive systems of the missles. ... Yes! I mean i-i-i-if we're unable to stop the NMD missles, then ... I'd say that, ah ... well, ah ... we're just gonna have to help you destroy them, Vladimir. ... I know they're our missles. ... All right, well listen now. Who should we call? ... Who should we call, Vladimir? The ... wha-whe, the People... you, sorry, you faded away there. ... The People's Central Air Defense Headquarters. ... Where is that, Vladimir? ... In Omsk. ... Right. ... Yes. ... Oh, you'll call them first, will you? ... Uh-hu ... Listen, do you happen to have the phone number on you, Vladimir? ... Whe-ah, what? I see, just ask for Omsk information. ... Ah-ah-eh-uhm-hm ... I'm sorry, too, Vladimir. ... I'm very sorry. ... All right , you're sorrier than I am, but I am as sorry as well. ... I am as sorry as you are, Vladimir! Don't say that you're the more sorry than I am, because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are. ... So we're both sorry, all right?! ... All right. ...

BOOM!

Vladimir Putin: Launch all Nuclear Multiple Re-entry Vehicle Inter-Continental Ballistic Missles!

KABOOM!

(35 following messages)

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