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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
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(10696 previous messages)
dccougar
- 11:24am Mar 29, 2003 EST (#
10697 of 10706) Everyone is entitled to his own
opinion but not his own facts.
Alarmist: "The victory at any cost will lead
to increase targeting of civilians and civilian
ifrastructure, suttering the idea of being accepted as
liberators.... This will in turn increase the popular
resistance and lead to prolonged partisan war against
occupation combined with internal ethnic and religious
fights."
This is not "an important point"; this is the propaganda of
a pessimist. Once the current regime is exterminated, the
populace will find themselves free of a repressive and
murderous dictator. They'll find aid coming in, and they'll
find the coalition is not there to steal their oil, but rather
to buy it. What's to resist?
almarst2003
- 11:33am Mar 29, 2003 EST (#
10698 of 10706)
dccougar - 11:24am Mar 29, 2003 EST (# 10697 of 10697)
We all watch the same things but see it differently. It
shouldn't take that long to see who have recognised the
"elephant", if any.
rshow55
- 11:39am Mar 29, 2003 EST (#
10699 of 10706)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click
"rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for
on this thread.
Cougar - from their point of view, there's plenty to
resist.
Historically - how often have invaders from a very
different culture been embraced, rather than resisted?
The argument you make would have applied to Vietnam, as
well. From an econonomic point of view - there were
tremendous arguments for resisting the Communists. What
happened?
Almarst raises an important point.
And pessimists, in history, and especially the history of
war - have often been right.
There is plenty to be careful about.
rshow55
- 11:47am Mar 29, 2003 EST (#
10700 of 10706)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click
"rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for
on this thread.
Plenty to be hopeful about, too.
For one thing - there is a lot of ambivalence on all
sides.
Everybody - at almost all strategic positions and
tactical positions - has much to fear - and some things they
don't have that they'd like, as well.
There's a lot of UN contact - and communications going
every which way.
Ideas about negotiation should be taken seriously -
both now - and if war continues to the end.
There's a lot of damping in the system, in a lot of ways.
If people are careful - we might end up with a stable
situation. Step by step - some reasonable things might
converge - if people aren't too stupid.
Though, of course, people often are.
dccougar
- 11:52am Mar 29, 2003 EST (#
10701 of 10706) Everyone is entitled to his own
opinion but not his own facts.
Historically - how often have invaders from
a very different culture been embraced, rather than
resisted?
Historically - how often have invaders from a very
different culture immediately given back the country and all
its natural resources to the people of that country?
Historically - how often have invaders from a very different
culture helped the "conquered" country rebuild it into
something better than it was?
Japan comes to mind. Japan loves America. (Inexplicably,
they also love Italians and the French, but there's no
accounting for taste. :^)
almarst2003
- 11:52am Mar 29, 2003 EST (#
10702 of 10706)
dccougar - 11:24am Mar 29, 2003 EST (# 10697 of 10697)
If people would be absolutly RATIONAL they could not remain
PEOPLE.
Coldn't those who bomb someone else into a "right way of
life" be seen as using a HAMMER to reshape a HORSE into EAGLE
so it can start enjoing the flight?
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