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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 - 03:25pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5114 of 5118)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

How did the satellite photos get misinterpreted, exactly?

Yes, I know it could have been an honest mistake.

Could you, as a technical matter, explain things to the Russians so that THEY might believe that?

rshowalter - 03:29pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5115 of 5118)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

While you're about it -- it might be a fine thing if the US could explain to China HOW it came to make the mistake it did, that resulted in bombing the Chinese embassy.

Sure people make mistakes. But often, when they make them -- they say "I'm sorry" -- and if they want people to believe it was a mistake -- they give some reasonable explanation about how they make the mistake.

Since bombs kill so indiscriminantly - unless VERY well aimed -- wouldn't it have made sense to be careful ?

What was the US doing dropping bombs on Yugoslavia with B52's ?

I know almarst would be interested in finding an explanation for that which made human sense to him.

rshowalter - 03:32pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5116 of 5118)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

William Safire's Bush Unifies Europe http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/14/opinion/14SAFI.html today sounds somewhat like Fritz, in some ways -- but he suggests a "grand compromise."

I'd suggest another -- people should admit, on the basis of things that can be checked, and checking procedures that can work what happened in the past about nuclear weapons, and military balances.

Not attempt to keep piling one deception on top of another -- but get to agreement about the basic facts.

That done, people would be able to sort out the nuclear terror, prohibit nuclear weapons -- at least to the point where they were no more risk than the occasional natural disaster is today -- and we could go about the busines of making the world less ugly. Instead of uglier.

rshowalter - 03:35pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5117 of 5118)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

There's a great deal that stinks about everybody involved.

rshowalter - 03:37pm Jun 14, 2001 EST (#5118 of 5118)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Perhaps that, with a little realism on all side, might for some basis for reasonable accomodations. The situation is only beyond redemption because of the deceptions that have everybody in awkward positions.

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