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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?

raoul - 10:34am Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5098 of 5105)

I believe that Bush is out of touch with the American people and with our allies. Like a kid, he insists on pushing what he wants, the rest of us be darned. The missile defense program is a star wars idea that will drain our national resources when we need to put our emphasis on Social Security and Medicare. His tax cut is a boon to the ring and a raid on our treasury.

fgreenfield0 - 12:34pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5099 of 5105)

Not only is this program totally stupid, it is really a test of Bush's mental state. There are more than enough ways now to terrorize nations that nuclear defence is the least of worries. I am glad to see that Europe - France and Germany - are standing firm. It is now up to the American people and the world at large, to fight this insidious and dangerous warmongering tactic.

fritzi24 - 12:43pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5100 of 5105)

Let's get down to basics. The 1972 ABM treaty is legally of no effect because one of the two principal signatories no longer exists. That disposes of the legal argument. As for the effectiveness of the missile shield - the complaints against it sound awful similar to the complaints over the U.S. space program thirty-five years ago - the same program that has landed men on the moon and brought them back. Luddite naifs. Give our technological resources some credit. And since when is it so wrong for a country to want to insulate itself, even imperfectly, from a potential threat? The "rogue nation missile" isn't science fiction - North Korea, Iraq, even Iran are clearly plausible candidates. And you don't need state-of-the art. A modernized SCUD with increased range could do the job nicely.

As for the displeasure of Russia, China and oue European "allies"(?) - who the bloody hell cares. Russia is in no position to engage in another so-called arms race - the last one caused the implosion of the old Soviet Union. As for China, a missile shield in place, even imperfect, IS a deterrent to Chinese mischief in Asia - or do you people forget last year's Chinese threat that missiles could hit Seattle or L.A.? As for Europe - the time is long overdue to deal with these pious hypocrites. Realistically, there are only two (old) NATO countries worth anything - the UK and Turkey. The Germans are too damn afraid of the aging hippie Greens in their own government. The French? Well, they're the French - enough said. Besides, aren't these the same countries that had the riots back in the 80's when President Reagan deployed the Pershing II's - part of the buildup that cause the collapse of the Soviet Union? Western Europe should be told, politely, that if they are so displeased with American policies, that they are free to go it alone - which means drafting their boys and girls to police remote Balkan trouble spots and ex-colonies instead of allowing them to lounge about in Ibiza or at Club Med while expecting, and demanding, that American troops do the dirty work. Europe has hid beneath the American defense umbrella for too long while every year spending less and less for their own militaries. The time is long overdue to start making them shoulder their fair share of the burden. Besides, does any sane American want to trust the fate of New York City or Chicago or L.A. to the "wisdom" and "perceptions" of some left-of-center European politician that everything is roses and lavender. I don't and I hope Bush has some backbone if some of his advisors start getting cold feet.

rshowalter - 01:37pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5101 of 5105)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD3175 rshowalter 5/3/01 5:12pm

MD3510 rshowalter 5/8/01 12:09pm . . . MD3512 rshowalter 5/8/01 12:28pm

gisterme 5/2/01 1:09pm "Okay, Robert, I'll bite. What are the lies, the missteps and who is the very small extraconstitutional group?"

MD3514 rshowalter 5/8/01 12:38pm

rshowalter - 01:43pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5102 of 5105)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

The europeans may be unenthisiastic, in part, because the CIA fed them, for twenty years, very biased, doctored, incorrect intelligence "data" on the nature of the Soviet threat and intentions -- to their considerable cost, and considerable risk. That can't be escaping them now.

rshowalter - 01:46pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5103 of 5105)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

I've heard that in Yugoslavia, the same thing happened, -- satellite photos were doctored to stampede the allies into making decisions that otherwise might not have been made. There are some very angry Russians about that one, and some of our European allies can't be too pleased either.

Not that the Serbians didn't do plenty of wrenching stuff -- but the numbers were badly misstated -- and those numbers mattered.

When Bush asks people to "trust us" --- what does he mean, and on what basis of history is trust justified.

rshowalter - 01:48pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5104 of 5105)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

We needed numbers to justify our "humane intervention" via iron bombs dropped from B52's.

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