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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?

di0genes - 06:46am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8225 of 8239)

armel7 8/27/01 9:48pm

di0genes -- If you take issue with my actions, please use my e-mail scottarmel@hotmail.com rather than use the forum for complaints.

Your actions and your was public; I responded in the same way. Taking it private is just a furtherance of your abuse of power. But it really don't matter -- this place is a wasteland with page after page of "RShowalter" and it obviously isn't going to change.

bilbobaggins0 - 07:01am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8226 of 8239)
Bush is NOT my president.

rshowalter 8/29/01 5:52am

I honestly thing NMD is a payoff to defense contractors for financial support of elections.

It is totally unneccessary, and is NOT a failsafe system even if some rogue nation did what Bush et al say they might do.

We would be much better off improving our ability to fight "in-house" terrorist threats, and simply maintaining air superiority.

possumdag - 07:13am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8227 of 8239)
Possumdag@excite.com

di0genes 8/29/01 6:46am i thought WHINGING was an Aussie past-time!

rshowalter - 07:13am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8228 of 8239)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

We might try to act in ways that make us less hated, and more respected, as well.

So other nations could help defend us, as people help defend each others in the normal course of social interaction.

And so that fewer people hated us enough to be tempted to mass murder.

rshowalter - 07:17am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8229 of 8239)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

If di0genes has valid things to say, that can be said civilly, and on the basis of information that can be checked , I'm most interested.

I've been looking for reasons to think well of the Bush administration -- looking pretty hard. There are some good things, but on some key matters of life, death, and responsibility, it seems to me to be slim pickings.

Perhaps di0genes can explain to me, and others here, what is useful, and productive, about alienating the whole world, on the basis of military plans that no one outside the United States seem to understand at all.

possumdag - 07:19am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8230 of 8239)
Possumdag@excite.com

sail into reality Afghan-taisa.

possumdag - 07:52am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8231 of 8239)
Possumdag@excite.com

People moving around the globe from 'trouble spots' looking for a safe haven - that's the modern reality.

Of course the people get labelled - refugee / other.

They find it difficult to be valued and accepted by friendly countries.

Should people have to move .. or do people have the right to expect that their country be able to negotiate peace, with democratic civil rights.

This is the real world - not a missile inventory!

armel7 - 11:24am Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8232 of 8239)
Science/Health Forums Host

Article:Japan gets H2A rocket back on line...

Your host,
Michael Scott Armel

applez101 - 06:42pm Aug 29, 2001 EST (#8233 of 8239)

Good article, and I wasn't aware of these 'quiet' victories the Japanese space program was earning.

Yup, makes North Korea and China's crash programs to build their own missile and space capabilities very reasonable (from their PsOV).

Hmm...Japanese rockets, continued US military presence there and in South Korea, stalled Korean talks, and a warming trend between India, Israel, and the US; let's not forget a wildcard Taiwan with new hardware. Yes, looks like paranoia and military upgrade are good ideas for Chinese national security.

LOL!

rshowalter - 08:16am Aug 30, 2001 EST (#8234 of 8239)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Here is Richard Garwin, of the Rumsfeld Commission, from a Australian television show titled "Rogue State http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/roguestate/interviews/garwin.htm

" deploying any kind of missile defence system has been a tenant of conservatism. It's part of the faith for the last 20 years, you cut taxes, you ban abortion, you deploy missile defences…

" Deploying a missile defence would be regarded as a tremendous victory by some, political victory, over the opponents of missile defence but it's not that the army is fighting the navy, the army should be fighting some enemy of the countries and the Republicans shouldn't be fighting the Democrats, we should all be working together to improve not only US security but world security and we do not get there by deploying an ineffective system. . . . "

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense