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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?

logician3 - 02:50pm Dec 4, 2001 EST (#10338 of 10657)
A supposed god is being pushed down our throats.

armel7 12/4/01 2:45pm

What a surprise.

dejaxxvu - 03:42pm Dec 4, 2001 EST (#10339 of 10657)

had it not been ..
<did it actually happen - didn't notice>
.. 4.30pm Friday would have been the slot
<The homing pigeons must be 'homier' this week>

ledzeppelin - 11:11am Dec 5, 2001 EST (#10340 of 10657)

China Repeats its Opposition To Missile Defense as did Russia.

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - China Tuesday reiterated its opposition to President Bush's ballistic missile defense proposals, following a successful test of the system, whose aim is to protect the U.S. and its allies against missiles fired by "rogue states." "Our position on missile defense is very clear and consistent," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue told a news conference. "We are opposed to the United States building a missile defense system. "Instead we believe that relevant sides should, through sincere and serious dialogues, seek a solution that does not compromise any side's security interests, nor harm international efforts at arms-control and disarmament," she added.

The missile defence shield will do nothing but inflame.

Oh well those whom think that Russia chopping up a few missiles leaving it with some 2,000 is going to make anyone safe lives with the white rabbits a dozen or so Russian Missiles would turn North America into a landfill site and Russia would only need to lob one at England to do the same to us....

Oh well lets break treaties that will insite others to do likewise and lets get back to the good old days of a nuke arms race, indeed its time the Maldives, IOM or Jersey had their own Nuclear deterants?

mazza9 - 11:25pm Dec 5, 2001 EST (#10341 of 10657)
Louis Mazza

A Missile Defense system will "incite" Korea? They threaten to build their military to cope with American bellicose actions? China dismisses our defense plans? Gimme a break!

Would they feel more comfortable if we purchased 1000 replacement Minuteman missiles and threatened to "launch on warning"? Would they sleep at night knowing that should one of their systems misfire it would mean the end of their society?

The three mile limit arose from the era when coastal, defensive artillery had a kill range of three miles. I don't ever remember reading of an instance where a country declared that they would increase their offensive firepower because of these defensive coastal emplacements.

With a bunch of 15th century despots developing WOMD, I would sleep better at night knowing that a "defensive shield" protected me and my family.

LouMazza

11111pbh - 05:21am Dec 6, 2001 EST (#10342 of 10657)

mazza9 12/5/01 11:25pm

Since sept 11, I'm a whole lot more concerned about terrorism and nuclear terrorism. It is a more realistic threat. The christian science monitor has a good article about "loose nukes"

csmonitor.com

mazza9 - 11:34pm Dec 6, 2001 EST (#10343 of 10657)
Louis Mazza

11111pbh

I served in SAC during the height of the Cold War. I was privy to the War plans and would go to bed fearing the power we held.

I would much rather be arguing about Lunar vs Mars over at the Space Forum. This would be money well spent but, unforunately we share a planet with societies that run the gamut from the 21st Century back to the Stone Age, (upper Amazon tribes), and everywhere in between. We must defend ourselves to allow time for all of us to grow, mature and understand what our senitence really means.

LouMazza

logician3 - 07:00am Dec 7, 2001 EST (#10344 of 10657)
A supposed god is being pushed down our throats.

NMD is frankly insane.

howardpearlman5 - 07:50pm Dec 8, 2001 EST (#10345 of 10657)

We have had a Star Wars Missle Defense for over 40 years now!

You can take down a nuclear missle even if you miss it by a mile, if you use another Nuclear Missle to Blow up the first one!!!!

The Trillion dollars that we would waste on building Star Wars would be better spent on a fully equipped Police force to deal with Domestic as well as foreign Criminals and Terrorists!

Using half the money to end poverty and oppression wolud help prevent children from growing up and becoming terrorists!!!

logician3 - 07:55pm Dec 8, 2001 EST (#10346 of 10657)
A supposed god is being pushed down our throats.

We need to worry a lot more about the environment, soon to be our number one concern, and a lot less about poor ahfgans whose best weapons are slingshots.

jonathanbaker - 09:22pm Dec 8, 2001 EST (#10347 of 10657)
"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." Oscar Wilde

It does not seem terribly likely that Russia or China are ambitious to initiate a nulear exchange in the immediate future.

Osama bin Laden has already praised Pakistan for developing such weapons, and no doubt suffers from severe projectile-envy. Which leads to the obvious: a Star Wars system, even if it worked with 100% accuracy, would be helpless against the most likely aggressor: Al Qaeda or some comparable death cult.

They would simply deliver the nuclear payload the way millions of tons of drugs are delivered: walk it over the boarder, or ship it in by boat. Very simple. Goodby New York City, Goodby Washington D.C. Goodby Western Civilization.

Lotta good Star Wars will do us then . . .

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