New York Times on the Web Forums Science

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?

rshowalter - 07:33pm Sep 13, 2001 EST (#8981 of 8984)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

From this list, there are examples, and patterns of examples, that I will refer to later -- with the context here for people to judge.

MD6461rshowalter 7/3/01 6:40am ... MD6462 rshowalter 7/3/01 6:45am
MD6627 rshowalter 7/5/01 10:31am ... MD6666 rshowalter 7/6/01 10:31am
MD6667 rshowalter 7/6/01 10:37am ... MD6668 rshowalter 7/6/01 10:41am
MD6765 rshowalter 7/8/01 4:16pm ... MD6766 rshowalter 7/8/01 4:17pm
MD6767 rshowalter 7/8/01 4:21pm ... MD6768 rshowalter 7/8/01 4:23pm
MD6808 rshowalter 7/9/01 4:43pm ... MD6809 rshowalter 7/9/01 4:44pm
MD6810 rshowalter 7/9/01 4:47pm ... MD6020 rshowalter 6/25/01 4:23pm
MD6021 rshowalter 6/25/01 4:31pm ... MD6022 rshowalter 6/25/01 4:34pm
MD6023 rshowalter 6/25/01 4:36pm ... MD6024 rshowalter 6/25/01 4:52pm

rshowalter - 07:34pm Sep 13, 2001 EST (#8982 of 8984)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD6027 rshowalter 6/25/01 6:38pm ... MD6028 gisterme 6/25/01 6:58pm
MD6029 rshowalter 6/25/01 7:06pm ... MD6030 rshowalter 6/25/01 7:07pm
MD6033 gisterme 6/25/01 7:45pm ... MD6034 rshowalter 6/25/01 7:54pm

A major technical point, and a major concession:
MD6059 rshowalter 6/26/01 1:35pm ... MD6060 gisterme 6/26/01 3:13pm

MD6826 rshowalter 7/10/01 8:11am ... MD6827 rshowalter 7/10/01 8:58am
"I'm at a loss, myself, to understand how this cannot be treason. ...You don't have to trust what I say -- look for yourself

More on questions of "treason" - - and key matters about the technical viability of weapons systems claimed to be useful for the defense of the United States:
MD6860 rshowalter 7/10/01 4:31pm ... MD6861 rshowalter 7/10/01 4:36pm

rshowalter - 07:34pm Sep 13, 2001 EST (#8983 of 8984)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

"We could get closure on important things -- and make progress, if the Bush administration would concede things that are becoming obvious and inescapable. It would be better to do it in a way that might permit some graceful resolutions.

gesterme and the control group gisterme represents ought to respond -- ought to feel morally forced, as decent human beings, to respond.

Perhaps, though, there is a divine plan, and gisterme and co-workers have been put on this earth to make clear how ugly some old ways are -- how ugly and useless some old certainties are.
MD6926 almarst-2001 7/11/01 1:18pm ... MD6927 rshowalter 7/11/01 1:41pm
MD6928 rshowalter 7/11/01 2:15pm ... MD6929 almarst-2001 7/11/01 3:47pm
MD6931 rshowalter 7/11/01 4:14pm

The missile defense projects proposed by this administration are far fetched. They have only a vanishingly small chance of working at the levels tactical performance takes.

The things that matter can all be checked in the open literature - up to specifing advances -- best described as "miracles" that would have to be achieved for program viability.
MD7009 rshowalter 7/13/01 2:07pm ... MD7010 rshowalter 7/13/01 2:11pm

MD8409 rshowalter 9/3/01 11:26pm ... MD8663 rshowalter 9/8/01 5:56pm
MD8665 rshowalter 9/8/01 6:02pm

(1 following message)

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense