New York Times on the Web Forums Science

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?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

rshow55 - 08:21am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1067 of 1077)

MD1040 almarst-2001 4/3/02 9:16pm is a very important posting. If what almarst says is correct, the US is doing some things exactly wrong.

Endangering itself, its allies, and the whole world.

We need to learn to make peace. Real peace - that is stable. The idea that the US can simply dominate the earth, and remain invulnerable, has been discredited by events.

MD1027 rshow55 4/3/02 11:01am

lchic - 08:32am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1068 of 1077)

Commuication : crisis
http://www.c4m.com/chapter10.html

lchic - 08:36am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1069 of 1077)

... Managing Crisis

Two issues are involved in any crisis situation: anticipation and reaction.

There are rules and precepts that need to be followed in crisis management and communications, but none more important than the one cardinal rule of TELL IT ALL, TELL IT FAST.

Make Everything Possible Public

The less people know about what is going on in a crisis the more they fear possible consequences. The national hysteria that followed the Arab oil embargo, the Chilean grape recall, and the use of the pesticide Alar on apples brought home the fact that when there is no information available in a crisis, rumors will breed quickly.

It is important not to hold back any information during a crisis situation. This is part of the "Tell It All" rule. This means telling all pertinent details, as long as security or confidentiality is not breached. Following an incident or accident, the media will want to know the usual information - who, what, when, where, why, and how. The smart company is quick to provide straightforward answers to those questions.

almarst-2001 - 09:08am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1070 of 1077)

On Why the assimetrical warfare is here to stay.

Before the notions of a nation, superior nation and nationalism coupled with "the only true" religion where refined and put to use by the rullers of a time, the lost in war would mostly bear an economic consequences of paying the taxes to a different ruller. For the ordinary man, there was no much reason to fight to the death.

Those "inventions", born in Europe, where used to motivate the ordinary man to sacrifice all for the interests of a rulling elite in a name of the above "absolute" and "sacred" ideas. The enemy had to be dehumanised and compared to evil. Forced to denounce and betray its culture, heritage and religion as inferior. The deep and unberable to many HUMILIATION.

That why, the military superiority will not be enough to convince the proud and the brave to succumb. They will fight by ALL MEANS AVAILABLE.

almarst-2001 - 09:22am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1071 of 1077)

mazza asks wether I believe that "Any action is justified if a person perceives that an imbalance exists."

Yes. For those who believe they defend somthing to sacred to give away to the percieved agressor.

It's hard for me to imagine what such a thing could be for you, mazza. May be you would go to the phone to call the police and wait till they come while Mike Tyson rapes your child? Or you would ask him to face you on the ring according to the rules? What I suspect for many to do, is to spray a gasoline on a beast and put him on fire. Then go to the phone.

rshow55 - 09:52am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1072 of 1077)

almarst-2001 4/4/02 9:08am

almarst-2001 4/4/02 9:22am

If people understood, really understood, what almarst is saying, and understood why people do feel and act as he describes, we'd all live in a safer, more comfortable, more beautiful, more stable world. We could make peace. Stably.

People can and do fight.

Sometimes fighting is unavoidable. Not so very often.

Because people also value life, and things they regard as "sacred."

Very often, people find ways to make adjustments, that they can understand and live with - so that workable interactions can go on.

We need to learn to do that in cases where we are failing now.

I think that if we lied less, faced a few facts, and did some work, we could do a lot better than we've been doing.

MD1027 rshow55 4/3/02 11:01am ... Md1029 rshow55 4/3/02 12:36pm

mazza9 - 10:17am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1073 of 1077)
Louis Mazza

RShow55:

To use the almarst analogy we must react to an attack in a severe and uncontolled manner. "pour gasoline on the beast". Since this forum is about missile DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!then maybe a proper defense will insure that my child is not raped by Mike Tyson without having to resort to gasoline.

You go far afield and quote many disparate sources when the subject of this forum is very straightforward. The military has always followed the lead of the "rulers" whether king, czar, dictator or political head of state.

You an lchic constantly divert the questions I pose by declaring them diversionary. I ask again, "Who made you the diversionary sheriff?

LouMazza

almarst-2001 - 11:40am Apr 4, 2002 EST (#1074 of 1077)

"must react to an attack in a severe and uncontolled manner."

The question is - "What attack?"

(3 following messages)

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense