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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?

gisterme - 09:05pm May 15, 2001 EST (#3955 of 3959)

possumdag wrote: "...Rather than mereley pointing out that leaders X or Y are evil, a 'quality' framework of leadership might be devised onto which each leadership style can be grafted and examined, then leaders could be ranked, compared/contrasted, and the people might see their strengths and weaknesses (in relation to their national environment). This pre-supposes their right to choose leaders..."

You're thinking along similar lines to what Robert and I have been discussing, possumdag. Got any specific ideas to contribute? The problem Robert and I have noticed is that there's no objective measure that we know how to apply. How would you propose that leaders be "ranked, compared/contrasted" in an objective way? We need to find some sort of honest non-political baseline to do that.

almarst-2001 - 09:05pm May 15, 2001 EST (#3956 of 3959)

There is a claim that americans are strongly suspitious of their governmet - hence all this divions of power and attention to the free and independent media supposedly setting up as a watch dogs to scrutinize the prevent the evil deeds to happen.

The bombing of Serbia was requested and justified in large part by the satelite images provided by a Pentagon and the CIA of the "fields of death" found in Kosovo. Which turned out to be a fiction.

Where is a public outcry and a media investigation of the matter?

As I mentioned, the War Crimes Tribunal in the Haage was set up primerelly upon the US request. The indictements, provided primerelly by the NATO (read US agevcies) are sealed and never disclosed to the public. There is no US media coverage of the court hearings and no visible public interest in such. In a stark contrast to the public and media attention to the actual bombing compain.

Why such an indifference to learn who and what actually have done and in what cicumstances? Supposedly so terrible and attrocious that caused the US and NATO to break the most basic international Laws, act without UN Security Council approval and against the NATO's own charter?

The court proceadings are closed, the indictements sealed, the vitnesses' identities are hidden, the special undercover agencies abdict the suspects without warants... Would this practice be permitted in any of the country, called itself civilized?

If you aggree that not, where is the media and public attention and demand for explanation?

rshowalter - 09:06pm May 15, 2001 EST (#3957 of 3959)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

gisterme - I think that the US should be charged, in the case of Iraqi dead caused by US action. Certainly in the case of bombing -- also perhaps in the case of dead caused by sanctions (though not, perhaps, an ex post facto law.)

It would change some tactical decisions.

gisterme's "it is not in any way our fault" stance is one that very few people outside the US are likely to sympathize with.

By the way - did you catch how the analytical framework fits the movies ? Points I made then, without analysis, can be fit in now, with analysis. US action, in Vietnam and at other times, looks a lot like Nazi action from a lot of points of view. If you don't see that, gisterme , perhaps you can ask somebody from outside the US to explain that to you.

There are plenty of ugly things about other people and other countries -- all the same, if you can't see this, gisterme , you're missing something important that a lot of others do see.