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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

almarst-2001 - 03:47pm Mar 11, 2002 EST (#394 of 400)

BUSH'S NUCLEAR 'LUNACY' - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=11691273&method=full&siteid=50143

"Amid mounting anger, the target nations accused America of intimidation and "wreaking havoc on the whole world" and branded the plans a "lunatic" threat to world peace.

In Britain, MPs said the sensational disclosures threatened the stability of the Western alliance.

Labour MP Alice Mahon said: "The lunatics have taken over the White House. This report must be ringing alarms throughout Nato." The Pentagon document, known as the Nuclear Posture Review, was leaked as the US lobbied Britain to join an invasion of Iraq.

International Development Secretary and Cabinet Minister Clare Short hinted she might resign if a strike went ahead.

In Russia, defence hawk General Leonid Ivashov said: "The heart of US political doctrine is to push powerful Russia off the political scene."

Russian politician Dmitry Rogozin added: "This is a nuclear stick intended to intimidate us." Vyacheslav Nikonov, of the Politika think tank, branded the plans a "very negative signal" which would be "received in an appropriate fashion by Russia's leadership".

Iran's former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said: "The US believes that by threatening countries they'll withdraw their demands. Their policy is one of intimidation.''

The Tehran Times newspaper said: "This indicates the US is going to wreak havoc on the world to establish its domination." Professor Michael Yahuda, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, warned: "China won't be happy to be classified among rogue nations."

Liberal Democrat spokesman Menzies Campbell said: "America seems to be moving from nuclear deterrence to nuclear war fighting.

"It would drive a coach and horses through Nato's doctrine of nuclear strikes as a last resort."

In the first sign of a Cabinet split, Ms Short denounced any invasion plans yesterday. She said: "An all-out military attack is, of course, not at all sensible.

"We need to deal with the problem of Saddam Hussein. We don't need to inflict further suffering on the people of Iraq."

Ms Short said the best answer was to allow UN inspectors back into Iraq, a move firmly ruled out by Iraq's Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan yesterday. Her warning amounted to a threat to resign if there is a strike against Iraq. Donald Anderson, Labour chairman of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, said military action on Iraq must only be a last resort.

He said: "I think there are reckless elements in the Pentagon who are on a roll because of Afghanistan.

almarst-2001 - 06:04pm Mar 11, 2002 EST (#395 of 400)

What can be learned: http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/

lchic - 07:11pm Mar 11, 2002 EST (#396 of 400)

That the popular press in the UK have labelled GWalkerB a lunatic is interesting ..... it represents a way of thinking about the First Gentleman of the USA that ground swell guts get a feeling about. The Brian Wynne factor is starting to kick-in. When will that same factor move like a 'Mexican Wave' through the popular gut culture of the USA?

lchic - 07:34pm Mar 11, 2002 EST (#397 of 400)

Gut feelings like simple clear emotive theatrical senarios to respond to ... the fact about the often silent poison of Nuclear dust is that many suffer to decline in horrid degenerative ways ... but they don't make the headlines ... and statistics just don't capture the popular-mind.

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The memo tells civil servants that "when you carefully consider Foia requests and decide to withhold records . . . you can be assured that the department of justice will defend your decisions."

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If the seven targeted countries (misile trained .. on them) want to make a point at the UN, then how best can it be made .. not with a mere speech plus statistics ... it has to be done in a manner that is photographic, loud, bold, decisive, done from a position of strength not weakness, and done powerfully .. those SuperSeven will be thinking hard .... can the make the 'Front Page' of the London Daily Mirror ? Bat around blow up icons ... send 'The Admin USA' on a two week trip to Space via Moscow --- when those guys look down on the 'blue' planet .. i bet they're for world P E A C E !

lchic - 07:45pm Mar 11, 2002 EST (#398 of 400)

Watching but not hearing the French News on International Women's Day they seemed to be demonstrating that the origin of the word 'feminine' and therefore 'fe-wimmin' was derived linguistically from a Sanskrit word meaning producer.

Wimmin 'produce' little people.

As 'producers' wimmin have concerns for the HEALTH & SAFETY thereafter of their growing 'productions'.

So, if Wimmin are the 'controllers ' of one of the 'factors of production' themselves .. and if that process of production and delivery is truly demanding, then it follows that half the world's population - Wimmin are not for the sheer waste of people.

In the war-torn zones of the globe it might be preferable to have 'Wimmin' as Leaders of regions - rather than men - especially the 'aggressive' types who have no concept of either Health & Safety or the repercussions of conventional and nuclear military extravaganzas.

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