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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?

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

rshow55 - 06:16pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11822 of 11835)

Yup. Absolutely necessary -- when I've forgotten, I've gotten into messes.

lchic - 06:20pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11823 of 11835)

Orwell's BIG BROTHER was just a tv broadcaster type - the cameras did the watching ... whereas WalkerB's Big Brother is into Cable ... raises the point ... does Congress ever get to look at just how much money is allocated and used for harassing the common truthful citizen?

lchic - 06:24pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11824 of 11835)

Showalter .. you were saying ... rshow55 2/25/02 5:57pm

rshow55 2/25/02 6:05pm

rshow55 - 06:28pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11825 of 11835)

I'm not sure that Congress gets a straight story on such things - - but part of the reason is that, from the early days of the Cold War -- already in Truman's time -- Congressional people were discouraged to ask questions -- even very basic ones -- and often cooperated, because it was not only safer, but easier.

Problem is, when a government program isn't carefully accounted - - and doesn't have people asking questions -- and goes on a long time - - a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse can happen.

And there can be no limit to growth.

I wonder how many Americans actually know what our policies are -- or know that the US military budget now exceeds that of the next 12 largest military nations combined ?

The American people have, consciously or not, "delegated" military affairs, including some of the most important -- in ways that are even beyond control of the President and the Congress -- combined with a lot of other problems, with military expenditure as "pork."

If we could raise the discourse about military expenditures to the level usually applied to "pork" -- we'd be at a higher level, and things would be safer.

rshow55 - 06:43pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11826 of 11835)

lchic 2/25/02 6:24pm facts can be CHECKED . And the facts about how far-fetched our MD programs are can be explained, clearly, in the open literature. The patterns needed have been dealt with on this thread a number of times.

If world leaders (who are now quite willing to talk about their displeasure to journalists) actually wanted key things checked, and set out so that questions of fact were clear, it would happen. If they asked for it, it would happen.

IMHO, getting the organization for the checking, and the private funding for it, would be pretty straightforward if world leaders actually wanted to get the clarifications done. A clear request from Putin and the leader of one major NATO country would, I believe, suffice.

I wouldn't be surprised if I even knew some of the people who might want to be involved with that - - people with connections and credentials.

We're in a situation that is unstable - but some of the instabilities are hopeful.

Key questions, clearly asked, would elicit answers. Right answers, known to all concerned, would make for adjustments much better than the messes we have now.

rshow55 - 07:15pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11827 of 11835)

MD11634 rshow55 2/19/02 2:48pm ... MD11635 rshow55 2/19/02 4:29pm

almarst-2001 - 08:49pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11828 of 11835)

A quite interesting oppinion. In a way it resonates with my own view that US foreign policy today can be understood by pararhrasing the old French phrase: "Shershe le OIL";)

THE EMERGENCE OF THE FASCIST AMERICAN THEOCRATIC STATE - http://english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/02/18/26452.html

rshow55 - 09:00pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11829 of 11835)

Quite interesting. Worth reading. Worth considering. But all the same, if you read American history -- Americans often FIX PROBLEMS.

We live in a world where questions can be asked.

They need to be.

The United States has an enormous number of good things about it -- and very few of the people in America -- whether they voted for Bush or not, would be for a "Fascist-theocratic state."

Questions need to be asked. They should be asked. If questions were asked by influentials, a lot of effective action might occur.

(Russia could stand to answer some questions, too.)

rshow55 - 09:26pm Feb 25, 2002 EST (#11830 of 11835)

When we are paying attention, there is a great deal of agreement on what is important.

MD11614 rshow55 2/18/02 9:33pm ... MD11502 rshow55 2/12/02 11:17am

(5 following messages)

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