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?

dirac_10 - 11:16am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1674 of 1682)

lunarchick - 10:41am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1668 of 1672)

Sounds like:

Diffusion Theory ...

data/knowledge moving backwards and forwards fueld by greed(dollars).

Well, the ideological thing is gone. Nothing but greed left.

lunarchick - 11:22am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1675 of 1682)
lunarchick@www.com

On Whacko 'dictators' ... how do they arise ? How can ONE luney-tune rise to the pinnacle of power .. rather than be directed to the psychiatric department for necessary 'treatment' ?

Usually Chaos is their floatation mechanism. Through dis_order they promote policies that are patriotic, wild, and unchecked. Once they have power they lock out democratic discourse and 'trash' their own people additional to making war on others.

dirac_10 - 11:24am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1676 of 1682)

almarst-2001 - 10:52am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1671 of 1674)

Dirac surelly missed the point that there is no defence against someone irrational.

I assume they will be irrational. With enough of them running around for enough time, you can count on it. You guys are the ones that think the dictators will act rationally with their ICBMs.

And there many more ways to inflict the harm then lunch a missile.

Well yes of course. But there are very solid reasons why the US and Russia put all that money into them.

A missle can be launched with a push of a button. At any time.

A mason jar with Russian weaponized smallpox has to be sent here. And generally speaking prepositioned. People have to be aware of the plan. It is not safe to assume we would not find out. And if we did, the result would be the same as the launch of the ICBMs.

lunarchick - 11:26am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1677 of 1682)
lunarchick@www.com

Missiles are anti clean air. The German Chancellor is putting 'clean air' at the TOP of his list as he meets (soon) with your bushed 'top cockey' ( that's a parrot where i stand, from your viewpoint - may be a lame_duck! )

almarst-2001 - 11:28am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1678 of 1682)

dirac_10 3/29/01 11:24am

It seems you clearly contradict yourself by trying to rationalise the response of someone supposedly irrational.

Could you prevent the Oklahoma bombing for example?

dirac_10 - 11:29am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1679 of 1682)

rshowalter - 11:14am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1673 of 1676)

You sure sound like my old pal Philip Hendrik I used to chat with on another forum.

rshowalter - 11:32am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1680 of 1682)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

I spent time looking at the NYT and some other papers this morning, and thinking of how things have developed since Bush took office.

Events have been amazing.

I'm not a church-goer, but I sometimes have religious interests, and refer to them -- even a sermon" http://www.wisc.edu/rshowalt/sermon.html

One doesn't have to be religious to think about God on a "what if" basis -- thinking about "God's Will" can be an interesting thought exercise, whether you believe in God or not.

Could things be unfolding according to some divine plan? Usually, the idea seems worse and worse, the more you look at it. But this time, this morning at least, this occurred to me.

"If GOD HIMSELF were trying to put together the conditions for world peace, he might be able to do no better, with people being as they are, than have the things that are happening now happen."

Because the legitimacy of nuclear weapons, and war threat scenarios, is being stripped away - the Bush administration is getting very isolated in the world --- almost miraculously so, in a short time.

And the notion of Russia as the "Evil Empire" is evaporating too. The Bush administration is making the US into the "Evil Empire" - and doing it with economy and speed, from many perspectives.

There might be little else that could so serve the cause of peace. Suppose peace "broke out" among the old "enemies" in the world, on the major issues, except for the United States. The US might look pretty evil under such a circumstance, but it would be fairly harmless, too.

dirac_10 - 11:37am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1681 of 1682)

lunarchick - 11:22am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1675 of 1679)

On Whacko 'dictators' ... how do they arise ?

It's a selection process.

How can ONE luney-tune rise to the pinnacle of power .. rather than be directed to the psychiatric department for necessary 'treatment' ?

There are always plenty of cold blooded predatory people around. In many systems, they are selected for.

Modern western democracies have a pretty good system. The leader of the country is never permitted to have any real power. Never trust them. Any one person can go south.

rshowalter - 11:48am Mar 29, 2001 EST (#1682 of 1682)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

With U.S. Pulling Back, North Korea Opens Up to Other Nations ....... by HOWARD W. FRENCH---March 29 "TOKYO, March 28 — With the Bush administration signaling a go-slow approach toward North Korea, that country has pushed its diplomacy into high gear in recent weeks, establishing ties with a wide variety of countries. . . . "

Maybe, with history as it is, Japan and the US are the nations N. Korea least wants to make peace with.

The story sounds like great news for peace.

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense