New York Times on the Web Forums Science

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 - 05:55pm Sep 1, 2001 EST (#8303 of 8320)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

What makes me think better solutions are possible ?

The last few months, for one thing.

With a few new insights, and a little more facility with tools at hand, or just on the horizon, we'll still have plenty of problems.

But we'll be able to do better than we've done.

Back tomorrow, with more to say about things that I think could be going right - - especially in response to gisterme's recent comments.

vyseguys0 - 06:59am Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8304 of 8320)

Sen. Biden's remarks on the reported policy of getting Chinas OK for us to deploy a missle defense is somewhat strange. He has never been a fan of such a system even before Bush but he always recognized the emerging missle threat to America. So he and others set up the straw man of Russian and Chinese approval around the ABM treaty assuming it would never happen. Lo and behold both Russia and now China are saying all the words indicating approval is on the way and Biden is having a hissy fit. The technology sure looks difficult but I sure wish any planned system protects at least Florida and Maryland. Why those places, you ask? Because thats where my grandkids live.

rshowalter - 07:03am Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8305 of 8320)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

White House to Let China Build Up Its Nuclear Fleet by DAVID E. SANGER http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/international/02CHIN.html?pagewanted=all ... is the lead article in the paper today, and features this forum. I made a comment about Sanger's piece in 8293 rshowalter 9/1/01 12:30pm ... asking

"Is this a "win-win" solution? .... What's a win?"

and referring to notions of conflict management, adapted from W.K. Thomas "Conflict and Conflict Management" p 900 in Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Dunnette (ed) 1976

MD8266-8273 rshowalter 8/31/01 3:02pm especially ..... MD8269 rshowalter 8/31/01 3:09pm

A key question about the "compromise" in White House to Let China Build Up Its Nuclear Fleet by DAVID E. SANGER http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/international/02CHIN.html?pagewanted=all is

Is it beautiful or ugly in the real context in which the compromise occurs, considering alternatives? ..... MD8294 rshowalter 9/1/01 12:39pm

Goals that I've had, and other main participants of this forum seem to have had, and something about what it has done, are set out in MD8258-8260 rshowalter 8/31/01 8:10am .. and MD8273 rshowalter 8/31/01 3:29pm

The forum is mostly built for staffed organizations with fast modems and long attention spans. But I'll be most interested in comments, and hope others will be, too.

I think a recent comment by applez101 , MD8264 applez101 8/31/01 2:07pm .. was especially good.

rshowalter - 07:07am Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8306 of 8320)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

vyseguys0 9/2/01 6:59am

We're agreed about the great importance of protecting people, young and old, from nuclear destruction.

The question is, how do we do it in a way that can work?

If the technology that "sure looks difficult" is in fact "impossible - barring a long list of unlikely miracles" then maybe we ought to work for the technical breakthroughs or miracles - - but we should try to achieve safety in other ways, as well.

jimmcd53 - 08:29am Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8307 of 8320)

So now the Shrub Administration is going to encourage the Chinese to build up their nuclear arsenal in order to justify the proposed American missile shield spending binge?

yonkio - 08:47am Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8308 of 8320)

I think the good thing to do is what bush try to do ,the USA should not argue about power but he should act as he want befor he become so late . Right now in the world USA in the much powerful country and the country like my will do nothing to stop him so he will be beter for thoes big nation to fight each other so we'll have a chance to become big too. I hope the USA will fire the Chinise if he does want to listen ,i will agree with the bush administration .In the world we should not have tow master so the Chinise should sourend ,no argue with the USA is the law and no one will stop the USA to do what he wan .

(12 following messages)

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense