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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 - 10:32pm Apr 1, 2001 EST (#1896 of 1901)

A special relationship under fire from missile defence - http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,417921,00.html

CHINA DEBATES the FUTURE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT - http://www.ndu.edu/inss/books/pills2.htm

Online Oil Reference Sources - http://www.la.utexas.edu/chenry/oil/

CASPIAN OIL And Political Implications - http://www.american.edu/ted/caspoil.htm

Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798 - 1993 - http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/foabroad.htm

CHINA'S CLAIMS ON EARTH'S RESOURCES OVERTAKING THOSE OF THE UNITED STATES - http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/pr960828.html

The Coming Oil Crisis—Really - http://www.ott.doe.gov/la_oil_crisis.html

China Pursues Ambitious Role in Oil Market - http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/china/stories/oil.htm

New millennium retrospection: Geopolitical changes in the western regions* and the security of China - http://www.atimes.com/china/CC28Ad01.html

CHINA'S NEW OIL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY TAKING SHAPE - http://www.worldscientific.com/books/general/3939.html

China's Worldwide Quest for Energy Security - http://www.iea.org/pubs/studies/files/china/index.htm

China Beating Us with Oil - http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a021751094d.htm

U.S. Security Policy in Asia: Implications for China-U.S. Relations, by Wu Xinbo - http://www.brook.edu/fp/cnaps/papers/2000_wu.htm

[PEN-L:8039] Oil ans US/China Relations - http://csf.colorado.edu/pen-l/jun99/msg00542.html

China's Challenge tohttp://www.worldwatch.org/mag/1996/96schi.html the United States and to the Earth* -

China and the Geopolitics of Oil - http://www.pwcglobal.com/extweb\newcoweb.nsf/docid/75F664CFC16FB4B18525696200746F5A?OpenDocument

Asia's big oil rush: Count us in - http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/970929/29troo.htm

Global Beat U.S. Defense Policy - http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/usdefense.html

The United States and the Overthrow of Sukarno, 1965-1967 - http://www.pir.org/scott.html

lunarchick - 11:03pm Apr 1, 2001 EST (#1897 of 1901)
lunarchick@www.com

Chinese Pilots?

On the Chinese knocking the American Plane out of the sky ... on wonders if the Chinese pilots use the same technique as Chinese road users ... closing their eyes, head down, forward charge, cross fingers and hope that oncoming and side moving traffic 'gives way' !

I wonder if the Chinese Government will diminish their chances re 'The Games' by reacting to, rather than ignoring the USA. The Dali_Lama issue , why would there be an objection to this happy philosopher talking in 'another' Chinese province (Taiwan), and if Bush is setting up China as the 'rogue' state .. Politics will be 'interesting' .. over the next months.

rshowalter - 12:08am Apr 2, 2001 EST (#1898 of 1901)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

I've had 3 beers -- after a long, stressful day - a very American response. So I'll not finish reading the pieces tonight - will approach them with more energy and sobriety tomorrow.

2 initial responses:

1. China is simply too insular in reflexes to be a plausible enemy to the US.

2. If China did everything to grow that it could -- by the time it became at "threat" -- all of our current military hardware, including Aegis, would be ridiculously obsolete. I'd think both Taiwan, and US, would want to postpone making ANY expenditures based on the "Chinese threat" until they saw there was one, and SAW THE TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD REASONBABLY BE EXPECTED IN THE TIME FRAME WHERE CONFLICT MIGHT REASONABLY BE EXPECTED.

It would be cheaper to TALK to China rather than to threaten her -- because we don't have the power to do much more than anger this great nation, as things now stand, unless the US uses nuclear weapons in a way that would end its claims to decency and economic trustworthiness in the world.

For China's part -- she says she wants to "reclaim Taiwan as part of China" -- and I hear the words, but don't understand what they mean.

In detailed, operationally complete terms, what can this mean?

If China had a workable answer here -- then perhaps she'd be in a postition to offer a humanly acceptable deal to Taiwanese, who emphatically think of themselves as Chinese and long, at many deep levels, for a workable reunification with the whole of China.

lunarchick - 01:09am Apr 2, 2001 EST (#1899 of 1901)
lunarchick@www.com

Interesting links above Alex. May be expedient to refer to 'energy needs' rather than energy in a specific format (Oil).

With regards to the balance of power, the second article was on the cusp of the popular IT revolution. The new Empires are those of the mind, not geographical land mass. With regard to this India is well placed to considerably increase it's influence and wealth.

Just as the Japanese took the electronics market from the bottom - up, so too India might become a major stakeholder in the Global IT market. It will of course require a more consistent and improved power supply to assure reliability.

(2 following messages)

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