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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?

almarst-2001 - 10:23pm Mar 27, 2001 EST (#1582 of 1593)

Spy scandal, Chechnya dispute add to worsening US-Russia ties - http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html?s=asia/headlines/010328/world/afp/Spy_scandal__Chechnya_dispute_add_to_worsening_US-Russia_ties.html

almarst-2001 - 10:37pm Mar 27, 2001 EST (#1583 of 1593)

MOSCOW, March 27 (UPI) -- Russia's state-run RTR television network Tuesday broadcast what it said was a tape detailing a senior U.S. diplomat's involvement in the spy scandal that prompted Moscow's retaliatory expulsions of four U.S. diplomats last week. - http://www.vny.com/cf/news/upidetail.cfm?QID=171998

US won't rule out more Russian expulsions in espionage row -

WASHINGTON, March 27 (AFP) - http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html?s=asia/headlines/010328/world/afp/US_won_t_rule_out_more_Russian_expulsions_in_espionage_row.html

The United States on Tuesday refused to rule out the expulsion of more Russian diplomats in the biggest post-Cold War espionage row between the two countries.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington would keep its options open until it completes a review of a list of US diplomats Moscow is kicking out of Russia in retaliation for last week's mass expulsion of Russians.

"We're studying the list to see who it is," Boucher said after confirming that Russian officials had presented the United States with the names of four US diplomats who have been given 10 days to leave the country.

In addition, he said Moscow had handed over a list of additional US diplomats who must leave Russia by the summer.

"We considered the matter closed and we'll leave it that way, but we're obviously looking at the list," Boucher told reporters, calling a review of the "responsible."

A senior State Department official said 46 Americans were named in the second list, making Russia's retaliation exactly equivalent to the number of Russians -- 50 -- told to leave the United States by July 1.

Should the Russian response be determined to be disproportionate to the US action in terms of the rank or seniority of diplomats to be expelled, Washington could reopen the "closed" case and retaliate, the official said.

"Whether it stays closed depends on whether they do anything more than we did to them," he said on condition of anonymity.

"So far, its doesn't look like they're not doing anything more than we did to them, but we will have to see after studying the list whether that remains the case."

The United States announced last week it was expelling 50 Russian "intelligence agents" operating in the country under diplomatic cover.

Four of the Russians were linked to the case of Robert Hanssen the FBI agent accused of spying for Moscow for 15 years, the other 46 were told to leave to reduce what Washington believes are the swollen ranks of the Russian intelligence operation in the United States.

The US expulsions prompted a near immediate tit-for-tat response from Moscow though until Tuesday, Washington had not been told which of its diplomats must leave Russia.

Boucher declined to reveal either the names or ranks of the American diplomats named in the Russian lists but defended them and noted that members of the US foreign service are often proud when they are forced to leave a country.

"Generally in our history, it's been a badge of honor to get kicked out of somewhere," he said.

almarst-2001 - 10:42pm Mar 27, 2001 EST (#1584 of 1593)

New York Times on Iraq Airstrikes: Zero Dissent Allowed - http://www.fair.org/activism/nyt-iraq-airstrikes.html

lunarchick - 01:58am Mar 28, 2001 EST (#1585 of 1593)
lunarchick@www.com

Chechnya: on this, it is important to look at the needs of the people, and listen to their arguments in a responsive manner. The needs of people seem to be a desire to honour their culture, educate for the future, and make a decent living.

The problem with 'long running' disputes is that a whole generation of young men develop minds attuned to the arguments of injustice, as in Northern Ireland, and later when the dispute is over, these guys are so programmed to be distructive that 'they just can't help themselves'.

One noticed that the Germans were picking up the moderate hoodlums, taking them into University, to attend seminars, with other young people, where they could 'reframe their mindset' in light of fact.

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On the French, they say of themselves that whatever anybody else is doing or thinking, they want to do the opposite. If a system has been in place for 'too long', they don't want to modify and adjust it, rather completely knock it down and develop the new.

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On the Americans .. a guy has a show where he literally enacts the policies that right=wingers propose, then presents the enactment of their logic to them ... and they have to walk away .. things can look and be ludicrous! The guy says "This is what you are saying" ... "LOOK!!!" ... "Is this what you 'really' mean?" .. "Can you see the consequences of the logic of your thought pattern?"

What he actually does is SHAME them into dropping or changing policies.

With foreign policy the problem is that people can lack sensitivity to others who become a number without a name. They fail to identify with an outsider. Because of this they let their Rogue-Superpower-Government literally get away with MURDER.

lunarchick - 02:15am Mar 28, 2001 EST (#1586 of 1593)
lunarchick@www.com

The Editorial in The New Scientist this week takes Bush to task over the koyoto clean air agreement. This weekly journal's Editor breezed through these parts a while ago, he seems to be a thoroughtly decent, ethical humanbeing routing for scientists by bringing their work to the fore and showing how new paradigm shift ideas and concepts actually fit into the bigger picture of the scientific and ecological environs.

The philosophy of the New Scientist is to present material in such an interesting and non-contrived manner that the generalist reader can follow and enjoy evolving scientific discovery and thought.

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