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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.

rshow55 - 09:24am Apr 3, 2003 EST (# 10991 of 10994)
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.

Iraq invitation to Blix and ElBaradei should involve Saddam personally: 9995 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.UpbZapbp64w.208950@.f28e622/11540

Gisterme: Saddam's being living or dead doesn't matter: 10007 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.UpbZapbp64w.208950@.f28e622/11552 includes these points:

If there is no Saddam, does Iraq still have WMD? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, is Iraq still training terroirsts? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, is Iraq still in material breach of 17 UN resolutions? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, does Iraq continue to thumb it's nose at the UN? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, could Iraq still provide WMD to terrorists? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, could Iraqi-WMD-armed terrorists still kill millions? Yes.

If there is no Saddam, why are Iraq's children starving and it's people still living in fear? It's because Saddam lives. Saddam had better be quickly about the business of turning over his WMD or he will be dead.

So you see, Robert, the person of Saddam is not in and of itself the evil thing. This war, if it happens has nothing to do with punishing Saddam. It will be about the way that the ruler of Iraq, by whatever name, is and has been misusing his power. Even if Saddam were dead and his seat of power had taken on the title of "Saddam" the effects of the dangerous misapplication of that power are still apparent.

But the fact matters - and if Saddam has been dead a long time, that will be especially interesting.

Power is invariably personal. Even if there is "something very wrong" with responses - it matters what that something is. Power is personal. It matters how responsible and connected to basics Bush is - and it matters whether or not Saddam is dead - or a front.

Here are quotes from Berle:

Power is invariably personal. However attained, it can be exercised only by the decision and act of an individual.

No collective category, no class, no group of any kind weilds power or can use it. Another factor must be present. That of organization. The collective group must put itself together, must develop formal or informal structure - must establish stated and unstated rules by and through which power to decide and act is assigned to someone and, as a rule,, distributed through a hierarchy of subordinates.

Without this organization . . . no collective group can or ever does act. . .

In the hands or mind of an individual, the impulse toward power is not inherently limited. Limits are imposed by extraneous fact and usually also by conscience and intellectual restraint. Capacity to make others do what you wish knows only those limitations. Either you cannot or you consciously decide that you will not. . .

Normal individuals have a high content of internal restraint based on a system of ideas and morals in which they were brought up or to which they agree. Power holders know this; hence their concern with systems of ideas and of morals. To extend power beyond the reach of their fist, they must foster a situation where the people within scope of their power act predictably, will follow instructions, will maintain a degree of order. If need be, or course, order can be produced by force. The mother knows that, in case of ultimates, she can spank her smaller children. She can do htis only occasionally; domestic order must hold together most of the time without that resort. Because of this as well as because of moral conviction, she tries to instill principles of obedience, consideration, regard for orderly life. So, in different application, does every power holder in great or small affairs.

I hope that the vast majority of soldiers and other people in Iraq think about their situation - see that they have no valid reason to fight for Saddam's regime - and let the Americans take control without a fight that can only hurt everything Iraqis should decently want and need.

Then people,

lchic - 09:29am Apr 3, 2003 EST (# 10992 of 10994)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Then people, ....

lchic - 09:32am Apr 3, 2003 EST (# 10993 of 10994)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Germany - have decided it's now time to 'stop' the war!

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