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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?

applez101 - 02:59pm Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8331 of 8347)

I suggest everyone got to economist.com and check out their article/opinion piece on Russia's future role in all this.

BTW, has anyone considered how much of this could have been avoided if Dubya had the acumen to wrap this up as 'an opportunity for the world to move beyond limiting and endangering Cold War era treaties' and to 'invite Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, etc. to help forge a new system of global security...'???

-There is a definite value to rhetoric!

'Course, that presumes that this administration can do anything better than stumble into things like a bull in a china closet. :)

rshowalter - 02:59pm Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8332 of 8347)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

rgbrasel 9/2/01 2:46pm to make terrorist cells unlikely, and to maximize the chance of neutalizing them, you need a broad consensus that what they are doing is unacceptable. The US has long done and is doing many things to make enemies, and to destroy the consensus that is the most important protection we can have from nuclear terror groups.

rshowalter - 03:09pm Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8333 of 8347)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

applez's reference

RUSSIA'S FOREIGN POLICY . . . Can Russia handle a changed world? Aug 30th 2001 ... From The Economist print edition

Missile-defence talks and NATO enlargement will test Russia’s new pragmatism http://economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=760307

rshowalter - 03:16pm Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8334 of 8347)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

applez101 9/2/01 2:59pm makes a fine suggestion:

" BTW, has anyone considered how much of this could have been avoided if Dubya had the acumen to wrap this up as 'an opportunity for the world to move beyond limiting and endangering Cold War era treaties' and to 'invite Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, etc. to help forge a new system of global security...'??? "

That would fit well with suggestions, much discussed on this thread, about a "dry run"

" Crafting a fully workable, fully complete, fully explained "draft treaty proposal" for nuclear disarmament and a more militarily stable world. "

md8296 rshowalter 9/1/01 1:39pm

burppp - 03:21pm Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8335 of 8347)

Yes, this is SDI all over again. Bush is nostalgic for the Cold War and he'll do anything to resurrect the arms race of the eighties.

timray1 - 03:45pm Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8336 of 8347)

The missile defense proposal isn't worth a puddle of spit. How can we pour money down this rat hole while there are so many school systems that need money and children going hungry. This president is taking us down a very dangerous road. Wake-up America! We need to dump this bum!

rshowalter - 03:45pm Sep 2, 2001 EST (#8337 of 8347)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

But things are easier to check for and harder to hide than they were in the 80's.

Things can be checked . They should be checked.

Some technical facts can be checked, and established clearly, at a level beyond politics. It would take some resources - - only a tiny amount, compared to the stakes. It should be done.

MD8211- 8216 rshowalter 8/28/01 5:35pm

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