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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?

possumdag - 02:22am Apr 30, 2001 EST (#2754 of 2760)
Possumdag@excite.com

America is being 'locked out' of Eurasia ?

Russia and China to sign deal as tensions heighten with US Financial Times; Apr 30, 2001 By ROBERT COTTRELL

Russia and China confirmed yesterday they would sign a "friendship and co-operation treaty" when Chinese president Jiang Zemin visits Moscow in July.

The treaty, though expected to be largely declaratory, may symbolise a real shift in the foreign policies of both countries if they are drawn closer by tensions in their respective relations with the US.

Russia and China both oppose US missile defence plans. Russia is worried by the possibility of further Nato enlargement. China is angered by US support for Taiwan.

Quoting Chinese diplomatic sources, the Russian news agency Itar-Tass said China and Russia had come to see themselves as "the main roadblock in the way of Washington's global policy of spreading its influence".

Western diplomats add, however, that Russia may want to push the idea of a Russian-Chinese alliance, genuine or not, as a means of increasing pressure on America to abandon plans for missile defence.

Itar-Tass also reported, citing Chinese sources, that China was seeking "an expansion in military co-operation" with Russia, "prompted among other things by a US decision to supply Taiwan with a big batch of weapons". China is already the biggest market for Russian arms, believed to account for roughly half Russia's Dollars 4bn annual exports.

Russia has made clear repeatedly, since President Vladimir Putin took power last year, that it views increased arms exports as a legitimate way of reviving its economy.

The Russian foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, confirmed yesterday that "military-technical co-operation" was one of three main themes discussed in a meeting with his visiting Chinese counterpart, Tang Jiaxuan. The others were trade and economic relations, and cultural and humanitarian co-operation, Mr Ivanov said.

Mr Putin added a warm endorsement of Russian-Chinese relations when he welcomed Mr Tang for talks at the Kremlin. "There are practically no problems troubling our relationship," he said.

Later Mr Tang played down a possible irritant, the arrest in Russia last month of a Russian scientist accused of passing secrets to China. Mr Tang said it would "in no way affect normal co-operation between Russia and China".

In a further eastward tilt Russia has been cultivating relations with North Korea. On Friday ministers signed deals on military co-operation and defence-industry co-operation with Kim Il Chol, North Korean defence minister, who was visiting Moscow.

North Korea's arsenal includes Soviet-made tanks, warplanes and submarines, which Russian analysts say have fallen into deep disrepair. The agreements may provide for repair and modernisation. www.ft.com/asiapacific

laserradio.com - 02:25am Apr 30, 2001 EST (#2755 of 2760)

I studied militarty strategy and foreign policy at USC, Los Angeles-- under SALT I negotiator's departmental leadership. I went to one briefing on "Star Wars" by former USAF Intelligence chief George Keegan. Without going into the restricted material he disclosed, it was apparent that this whole effort-- then (late 70's)-- was a pure, economic wargame maneuver to outspend and destroy the Soviet Union.

Today, the basic fact that deterrence and arms control continues to be a cheaper way to ensure "rogue states" keep their place-- than divert money to NMD-- doesn't provide for the employment of thousands of Americans (who would be paid tens of billions to develop the NMD).

I'm almost done with a novel (due this summer with Barnes and Noble) that describes America in a couple decades as a "hypersonic fortress": Able to launch global reconnaisance and strike at hypersonic speeds (mach5-on up) and able to rely on a "shield" to intimidate ALL states...as we conduct "low yield" nuclear warfare against underground facilities.

Right now, the biggest secret is the U.S. development of earth-penetrating (20,000g shock) nuclear warheads with hundred-ton or kiloton yields (imagine a parking lot full of 1-ton pickup trucks, full of TNT....all going off at once...200 ft underground.

NMD isn't a shield against a rogue "first strike" nuclear attack. It's a shield against a nuclear RESPONSE!!! My book's code name is Winds of____

possumdag - 02:31am Apr 30, 2001 EST (#2756 of 2760)
Possumdag@excite.com

Full text of China's white paper on human rights - Xinhua domestic version BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Apr 23, 2001

Text of report by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency); subheadings as published

Beijing 9 April: The State Council news office today published a white paper entitled China's Human Rights Progress in 2000. The full text of the paper is as follows:

The year 2000 was year of marked significance for the development of modernization in China. In 2000, we successfully completed the Ninth Five-Year Plan [1996-2000] for national economic and social development, and we achieved a good start in western development. Our society and economy are both making healthy progress, construction of a democratic legal system continues to grow stronger, and we have enjoyed positive developments in human rights.

Full document:See www.ft.com via a search query.

possumdag - 02:40am Apr 30, 2001 EST (#2757 of 2760)
Possumdag@excite.com

Conflict of interest: Democracy v profit & greed thread

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