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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 - 12:30pm Sep 17, 2001 EST (#9291 of 9297)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

This will expire, so I'm posting it:

Special to World Tribune.com http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_1.html MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE Monday, September 17, 2001

"CAIRO — Arab states are becoming increasingly wary of a proposed U.S. campaign against international terrorism.

"Virtually all Arab League members appear unwilling to supply military troops or provide logistical support for U.S. or Western forces in any attack against Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden or any of his government sponsors, Arab diplomatic sources said. . . . . .

"The sources said many governments in the Middle East have expressed reservations over a demand by the United States to join an international coalition against terrorism and have imposed conditions on such participation.

"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said such a coalition must be under the auspices of the United Nations. Instead of military retaliation, Mubarak has called for an international conference against terrorism under UN auspices.

""A coalition grouping a select number of countries must not be formed since that will not permit decisive and collective international action against terrorism," Mubarak said. "It would be better to hold an international conference against terrorism under the auspices of the United Nations to adopt binding resolutions for all the countries of the world."

"Gulf Cooperation Council states are said to be particularly worried over a U.S. attack. The fear, Gulf diplomatic sources, is that they will be face both a domestic backlash as well as Iraqi-sponsored insurgency attacks.

""There is no doubt that the situation is dangerous and that nobody knows what will happen," a Gulf Arab official told the London-based Al Hayat daily on Monday. "The Americans are intent on a military operation and we can only hope that this will not have repercussions on the region."

"Some Arab League members, such as Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, have expressed willingness to provide the United States with intelligence information on Islamic insurgents said to be aligned with Bin Laden. Algeria has already submitted a list of 350 names.

"In Israel, officials have endorsed a U.S. coalition against terrorism. But the government appears divided over a U.S. demand to meet Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

"Peres said Arafat has given his security agencies an order to stop fire against Israel. Peres said he received such information from Israeli intelligence agencies.

"For his part, Arafat said he is ready to meet Peres at any time and at any place. Sharon has stopped Peres from meeting Arafat. But he said he would allow such a meeting if the Palestinians impose 48 hours of calm.

""If there are 48 hours of absolute calm, Shimon Peres will meet Arafat to further discuss a ceasefire," Sharon said.

""Israeli military sources, however, have warned the government of repercussions of any U.S. attack on Iraq. The sources said such an attack would result in Iraq firing the remainder of its medium-range ballistic missiles toward Israel. A leading analyst, Haifa University's Amatzia Baram said the missiles would probably be tipped with chemical warheads.

rshowalter - 12:32pm Sep 17, 2001 EST (#9292 of 9297)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

The number of ways that terrorists can disrupt Western, and especially US interests in the Middle East and elsewhere is very large - too large to even count - - too large to prioritize, too large to defend against.

rshowalter - 12:37pm Sep 17, 2001 EST (#9293 of 9297)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Pakistan Mission Fails to Get Taliban to Deliver bin Laden By JOHN F. BURNS http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/17/international/17CND-PAK.html

" ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 17 — A Pakistani group of high-ranking military officers met today inside Afghanistan with the Taliban government but failed to convince it to hand over the accused terrorist Osama bin Laden and his top associates to the United States.

" After eight hours of meetings in Kandahar, the Taliban stronghold, the Pakistani officials were reported to be "severely discouraged" at the intransigence of the Taliban and its leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, who set out several conditions for giving up Mr. bin Laden that seemed impossible to meet.

" These conditions were, according to Pakistani officials, that convincing evidence of Mr. bin Laden's involvement in terrorism must be presented to the Shura, as the Taliban's inner circle is called; that the surrender of Mr. bin Laden must be approved by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, an international organization whose membership includes some militant Islamic groups; and that if Mr. bin Laden were to be put on trial outside Afghanistan, at least one of the judges must be a Muslim.

" The Taliban's bargaining was reminiscent of the maddening conditions that the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein kept setting before the United States and its allies finally expelled his forces from Kuwait in 1991.

1. Those conditions may be unreasonable, but they will not appear to be so to many inclined to support Bin Laden, or inclined to distrust the West.

2. Is anyone really surprised by the resistance? People, when they are threatened, stand and fight with monotonous regularity. Threats, when people are cornered, or when the threats are too severe, seldom work. Most animals, threatened enough, may run. People are very prone to fight.

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