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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 - 03:14pm Aug 8, 2001 EST (#7788 of 7807)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

The weaponization of space is a big international issue, and technical facts and relations involved here matter. There are some similar technical issues, connected to "smart rocks" or "brilliant pebbles" that also matter. Many of the issues involve "tiresome" relationships between tasks and numbers -- thning that take some attention to detail.

MD7713 rshowalter 8/1/01 3:03pm ... MD7714 rshowalter 8/1/01 3:34pm
MD7722 rshowalter 8/2/01 7:40pm ... MD7723 rshowalter 8/2/01 7:42pm
MD7724 rshowalter 8/2/01 8:11pm

To really end the Cold War, the United States would have to work itself through some fictions.

As Secretary Rumsfeld said, that may take a while.

As the United States moves toward that, it might not hurt to get clear about technical relations that could, with reasonably technical focus, be established in public.

lunarchick - 07:28pm Aug 8, 2001 EST (#7789 of 7807)
lunarchick@www.com

re Showalter Aug8 10.03

In the spring, the Pentagon may start construction at Fort Greely, Alaska, of underground silos for missile interceptors.

Could someone re-make the point echoed by the rational-rest of the USA:

The oil from Alaska will meet USA complete needs for ONLY 60 DAYS
The environmental repair will take ... 36525 days .. that's an additional 36465 days .. why? ... because the habitat of Alaska is so fragile.

It's possible to save 60 days oil nationally by folks opting to walk to the corner shop, catch public transport, put logistically efficiency into their road-travel schedual, opt for fuel efficient cars .. folks would enjoy such a challenge and be adopt a purposefully responsible attitude.

Trashing Alaska doesn't look like a half senate election vote pleaser no matter how packaged!

lunarchick - 07:33pm Aug 8, 2001 EST (#7790 of 7807)
lunarchick@www.com

Lots of MD refs above ... will treat it as 'Summer' reading ... 25c winter day time my way. Noted Bwsh has gone walkabout back to the ranch for August .. yet the regulatory annual holiday for a worker is only 2 weeks Stateside - perhaps the lowest in the First-World?

rshowalter - 08:09pm Aug 8, 2001 EST (#7791 of 7807)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

U.S., Russia Talks Conclude in D.C. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/news/AP-US-Russia.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. and Russian officials on Wednesday concluded two days of talks at the Pentagon on the Bush administration's proposal to lift treaty restrictions on missile defenses while reducing U.S. and Russian nuclear forces.

Hope something good was accomplished. "Small" reductions of the numbers of nuclear weapons make only so much difference. But some things do take a while.

rshowalter - 08:55pm Aug 8, 2001 EST (#7792 of 7807)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Pentagon May Reduce Size of Troops By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Military-Cuts.html

With $1500 spent on military function for every man, woman and child in the country, and with many other needs, a "zero based budgeting" approach to military function would make some sense.

Especially if things that could not possibly work were unfunded, and if jobs that clearly did not need to be done were not done.