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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?

lunarchick - 08:00am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6121 of 6135)
lunarchick@www.com

The Intelligence Services Bill 2001, tabled in Parliament today, aims to bring greater transparency to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) while maintaining secrecy.

Mr Downer says the bill recognises spy organisations and outlines the roles of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and the Defence Signals Directorate, and includes a structure for tougher parliamentary scrutiny.

"Flowing from these measures, this Bill should provide increased assurance to the public in regard to the control and conduct of these agencies."

lunarchick - 08:18am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6122 of 6135)
lunarchick@www.com

India and Russia have agreed to forge a co-ordinated strategy to deal with threats of terrorism, narcotics and "extremist ideology" in Afghanistan.

The decision follows a two-day meeting between foreign ministry officials in Moscow.

It comes after both India and Russia accused Afghan-based militants of creating ethnic unrest in former Soviet central Asian republics as well as Indian-controlled Kashmir. http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsdaily/s319985.htm (21:59:55 AEST)

lunarchick - 08:28am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6123 of 6135)
lunarchick@www.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/battles/russia/russia_1.shtml

lunarchick - 08:34am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6124 of 6135)
lunarchick@www.com

Russia rejects British-US Iraq plan : Russia has rejected a US-backed British plan to overhaul sanctions against Iraq. Russia proposed its own resolution to speed up the lifting of sanctions - which the British and Americans in turn dismissed as unacceptable. The confrontation has left the 15-member Security Council bitterly divided on how to break a two-year stalemate on the future of sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

rshowalter - 08:37am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6125 of 6135)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Those are beautiful posts, Dawn. And they connect discourse to reality -- to a world too complicated to imagine -- and more compelling than we can imagine. In the Holocaust section of the BBC piece on WWII, there's a very moving, somber interview with the Russian General who liberated Auswitz, that I think lots of people might be moved to read.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/index.shtml

rshowalter - 08:38am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6126 of 6135)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

who is on which side in the "bitter divide" ?

rshowalter - 08:40am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6127 of 6135)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD6100 gisterme 6/26/01 8:07pm

is a very constructive post, I think. Though gisterme and I have some disagreements.

rshowalter - 08:50am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6128 of 6135)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

I'm thinking hard about the questions gisterme asked at about the same time about "the differences in a digital world." -- In some ways, there's been huge progress -- but there have been big bottlenecks, too.

Now, we could have real peace, and really solid solution of a lot of BASIC human problems, easier than another arms race -- and mostly using the same people.

Folks in the mic of the US have had a frustrating last decade.

almarst - - what you say about ideology is true -- too true -- and your sense of the motivations of nations in incomplete, but what you say is right,too, I think.

Out for a while -- trying to be constructive.

lunarchick - 09:00am Jun 27, 2001 EST (#6129 of 6135)
lunarchick@www.com

Nite!

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