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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 - 10:05pm Aug 24, 2001 EST (#8120 of 8127)
lunarchick@www.com

Hey! you guys .. see this

Bush set for battle over defence spending By Edward Alden in Washington / Published: August 24 2001 18:57GMT

President George W. Bush on Friday promised a battle with Congress if it resisted his request for increased defence spending despite the release of budget figures this week that show the US fiscal surplus shrinking more rapidly than expected.

The administration has asked for an extra $18bn (£12.5bn) for defence next year, but Democratic members of Congress are already warning they plan to scale that figure back.

"There's going to be a battle," Mr Bush told reporters on Friday at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. "Our position is that [defence] has been underfunded and we expect Congress to respond."

The comments came as Mr Bush formally announced his nomination for the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top uniformed military adviser to the president. General Richard B. Myers, an air force general who is currently vice-chairman of the joint chiefs, will replace outgoing army General Hugh Shelton.

In nominating Gen Myers, Mr Bush said on Friday that he would carry the administration's argument to Congress on the need for a transformation of US military forces aimed at bringing the most advanced technologies to bear on US war-fighting capabilities.

The president plans to make a forceful case to Congress that additional funds are needed to carry out that technological transformation while ensuring that the military is able to perform its current missions.

The commitment to maintain the defence spending increases will set up a confrontation, particularly with the Democrat-controlled Senate, where some senators have already accused the administration of squandering a huge surplus through tax cuts, leaving little room for other domestic spending.

Administration budget figures released this week show that only a $1bn surplus will remain this year unless Congress dips into the $157bn Social Security surplus, which politically has been declared off-limits.

The first battle when the Senate returns next month will be over the $8bn proposed for the administration's missile defence programme. Senator Carl Levin, who chairs the armed services committee, has said he plans to reduce that number.

Democrats are concerned in part that the administration's intention to deploy test missile defences in Alaska will soon put the US in violation of the 1972 anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty with Russia and want to deny funding for those tests. [ from www.FT.com & see FT.com special report: Bush defence plans]

Bwsh is topping/b_heading the EU news casts.

rshowalter - 11:09pm Aug 24, 2001 EST (#8121 of 8127)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

almarst-2001 8/24/01 9:50pm

"There is a wide-spread suspicion in Russia that a real aim of the NMD is to ensure the US military domination."

You've made that clear, and set out a lot of good reasons for the concern -- which is the central one you've expressed, all through this thread, as standing in the way of all steps toward nuclear disarmament.

Another big reason for MD is to give the military, and especially the Air Force, something to do that makes sense to American taxpayers.

Both issues are adressed in

The Next Battlefield May Be in Outer Space By JACK HITT http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/05/magazine/05SPACEWARS.html?pagewanted=print

A big question -- on missile defense and space weapons too -- is

what can realistically work?

Take away lasar weapons as a realistic threat, and consider control problems on "smart rocks" as they actually are - - and space weapons may not be so important --- or cost effective in any way.

Take away lasar weapons, and how dangerous are they? That's a question to ask without panicking.

I don't think space is a very effective place to fight from - expensive as it is to get up and down. And also a less effective place than it they would have seemed ten years ago, with lower stakes because of technical changes.

With the bandwidth of fiber optics so MUCH greater than the bandwidth satellite communication can muster, and fiber so relatively invulnerable -- satellites are getting relatively less important. If, with 4 years warning, engineers were told they'd have to do without satellites for everything but reconnaisance -- there wouldn't be all that much disruption, or expense. Satellites just don't matter for communication as much as they used to.

. . .

Why can't Russia and the US work some things out without good will, but with clear knowledge of what the facts are?

Maybe I'm being idealistic.

brownsville - 12:14am Aug 25, 2001 EST (#8122 of 8127)

I Think George Bush Must Be Taking Orders From Some Iron Communistic Mind Set On Scaring Our Country Into Thinking North Korea Or Iraq Have Plans To Attack Russia Or The United States, When North Korea Dosent Even Have Rice To Eat And Iraq Only Wants To Be Left Alone And Have The Sanctions Raised Due To The Long Punishment Of Past Troubles And Mistakes Everyone Has Room To Make For Who Are We To Spit On The ABM Treaty Calling Nations To An Arms Race? And Who Are We! To Deny Help And Aid To Aids Stricken Countries Like Africa And Zimbabwee Where Aids Is Everywhere, And George Bush Wants To Nuclear Arm The United States? Honey,,,,,,In Washington,,,,,,With Aids And Cancer From Water And Air Pollution George Bush Embraces And Pushes On The American People We Dont Have To Worry About Iraq Or Norte Korea, Who Is Mr. Bush Trying To Fool????????????????? The Land And Water Contamination And Rape On The Ozone Will Take Care Of Extinguishing Our World, And He Wants To Add Nuclear Weapons And Nuclear Exposure To The List Of Hazards In Our World Today????????? George Bush Should Be Impeached And Placed in A Straight Jacket Next To His Cabinet.

lunarchick - 02:56am Aug 25, 2001 EST (#8123 of 8127)
lunarchick@www.com

Cabinets are wooden with 'locked in carbon' .. bury don't burn!

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