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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?

smartalix - 11:50am Jul 5, 2001 EST (#6638 of 6643)
Anyone who denies you information considers themselves your master

I agree. I can think of many places to spend money that are better than MD.

rshowalter - 12:04pm Jul 5, 2001 EST (#6639 of 6643)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

And the engineering talent that is being wasted, corrupted, and frustrated.

There are MANY good things that these people could do --- and they're wearing out their hearts, and corrupting their lives, and the lives they touch -- living a lie.

This isn't a situation where "research should continue" -- except for projects that work to high standards on paper -- and if they don't have any -- and I don't think they do -- then the whole sorry mess should be shot between the eyes, and the people and institutional resources redeployed.

After both Americans, and people in authority in other nations, are clear enough about what has happened to guard against problems in the future.

smartalix - 12:13pm Jul 5, 2001 EST (#6640 of 6643)
Anyone who denies you information considers themselves your master

I wonder what happened to gisterme and dirac?

rshowalter - 12:21pm Jul 5, 2001 EST (#6641 of 6643)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

If you search " gisterme " on this thread, you'll find 54 search pages. In context, well worth reading.

The most recent exchanges, considered in context, should establish beyond a reasonable doubt how shallow and ill concieved "missile defense" has been, and remains.

This isn't a close call. The administration's missile defense program is without any merit at all -- (if merit requires functionality, as, in military matters, it surely should). And there is little reason to trust the administration's unexamined word on anything related to the military - either at the level of technical judgement, or a sense of proportion, or moral standards that can stand the light of day.

Republicans, most of all, should feel the need to clean this up.

rshowalter - 12:29pm Jul 5, 2001 EST (#6642 of 6643)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD6364 rshowalter 6/30/01 8:36pm .... MD6365 rshowalter 6/30/01 9:16pm
MD6367 rshowalter 6/30/01 10:06pm .... MD6368 lunarchick 7/1/01 5:04am

rshowalter - 12:46pm Jul 5, 2001 EST (#6643 of 6643)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD6613 rshowalter 7/4/01 11:46pm .... MD6614 rshowalter 7/4/01 11:48pm

MD6068 rshowalter 6/26/01 4:34pm .... MD6069 rshowalter 6/26/01 4:39pm
MD6070 rshowalter 6/26/01 4:41pm .... MD6071 rshowalter 6/26/01 5:00pm

With the ingenuity the Bush administration is now devoting to making its case for missile defense (and you have to credit them with ingenuity and initiative on this) they could probably figure out how to achieve real peace, solve the global warming problem, and assure the whole world an adequate and safe energy supply, forever.

They'd get a lot more credit for that than they're getting for what they're now doing.

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