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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?

rshowalter - 08:02pm Jun 3, 2001 EST (#4474 of 4478)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

When one deals with "big lie" techniques, again and again, from the secret side of the US military industrial complex, it is worth remembering the information here carefully -- there is a great deal behind it -- CIA's Worst-Kept Secret by Martin A. Lee May 16, 2001 http://www.consortiumnews.com/051601a.html

rshowalter - 08:20pm Jun 3, 2001 EST (#4475 of 4478)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

I believe that everybody concerned about matters of defense, and especially nuclear deployments, should consider carefully the concerns about the “military-industrial complex” set out in the FAREWELL ADDRESS of President Dwight D. Eisenhower January 17, 1961 . And people should imagine how concerned Eisenhower had to have been, to have made the speech. http://www.geocities.com/~newgeneration/ikefw.htm

It makes sense to read Eisenhower's speech, in light of information Eisenhower was well aware of, including decisions Eisenhower participated in. CIA's Worst-Kept Secret by Martin A. Lee May 16, 2001 http://www.consortiumnews.com/051601a.html .

It is now many years on, and the secret part of the military industrial complex, in charge of nuclear policy to an extraordinary degree - has been, in many of the ways that matter most, unsupervised, and limited in their actions only by their own senses of expediency and honor.

Key qustions about the motivation and sanity of administration positions need to be asked and answered. Here is one.
MD4431L rshowalt 6/1/01 12:45pm

rshowalter - 08:46pm Jun 3, 2001 EST (#4476 of 4478)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

In my experience, standards of directness and propriety in the secret agencies have been stunningly thin:
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The appearance of impropriety certainly exists. Semantic usages and evasions that would be hard to explain to a school class seem well entrenched. And the amounts of money involved are amply large to produce either conscious or unconscious corruption, or both. Elder Bush in Big G.O.P. Cast Toiling for Top Equity Firm .... by LESLIE WAYNE ... http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/05/politics/05CARL.html

That equity firm specializes in the defense industry, which depends on government decisions. And reports say the the average partner in the firm may have made more than a hundred million dollars from their roles as "investment advisors."

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CIA's Worst-Kept Secret by Martin A. Lee May 16, 2001 http://www.consortiumnews.com/051601a.html

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rshowalter - 08:47pm Jun 3, 2001 EST (#4477 of 4478)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

And patterns where the appearance of corruption is clear, and perhaps scarcely noticed, connect to multi-billion dollar decisions against the interest of the whole United States, and especially against the reasonable interests of the citizens of California.

Bush Advisers on Energy Report Ties to Industry by JOSEPH KAHN http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/03/politics/03DISC.html?searchpv=nytToday

" WASHINGTON, June 2 — At least three top White House advisers involved in drafting President Bush's energy strategy held stock in the Enron Corporation or earned fees from the large Texas-based energy trading company, which lobbied aggressively to shape the administration's approach to energy issues."

rshowalter - 08:48pm Jun 3, 2001 EST (#4478 of 4478)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

People don't have to be saints to make peace.

But the presumption of good faith -- the expectation that other nations must trust the good will, honesty, and rationality of the United States, are too much to ask under the circumstances that actually exist.

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