New York Times on the Web Forums Science

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 - 10:18am May 24, 2003 EST (# 11912 of 11914)
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.

If I'd known, in 1981, or 1991, or 1995, some of the things that I know now - things I've worked out with lchic , and the help of others as well - I think many millions of lives could have been saved, or made much better. And the world would be a much safer place. I'm sure a lot of people could say similar things - if only they'd known things, at past times, they could have made better decisions.

But it seems that some things worked out with lchic, if they were actually used, could make things better now . For that to happen, it seems to me, I have to find a way to work - which means that some security clearance problems need finally to be resolved.

It may be that, for that to happen, some other nation state may have to ask to have those problems resolved.

The question

"how would my actions look, written up in detail on the pages of the New York Times?"

is a pretty good question.

I think the answer would be "they'd look pretty good, on balance, though there have been some problems."

I think the NYT would look pretty good, too. But there have been some problems - and some of them illustrate in basic ways why problems that "look soluble" at one level don't ever get solved. Though, with some changes that look simple enough - such problems could be solved.

"When you're up to your ass in alligators, it is hard to remember that your objective was to drain the swamp." How is it possible to deal both with immediate imperatives - and patterns that provide longer term, larger scale payoffs? These objectives aren't contradictory. But they need to be handled in a structured way, or workable responses are classified out of existence. I've broken some rules. I'm thinking of doing it again.

The question "what would it look like, written up in the NYT" is a very good one to think of, when you're dealing with circumstances where "it is easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission. That question's been referred to a number of times on this NYT Missile Defense thread.

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md2000s/md2391.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md3000s/md3216.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md3000s/md3532.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md4000s/md4690.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md5000s/md5575.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md7000s/md7442.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md7000s/md7448.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md8000s/md8500.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md10000s/md10943.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md11000s/md11501.htm

1189 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/1517

1907 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/2381

3134 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/3924

3286 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/4133

3385 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/4269

4372 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/5528

4373 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/5529

4826 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/6101

5944 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/7391

7258 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/8783

7714 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/9240

8082 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/9609

9404 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?@@.f28e622/10943

11602 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.WJ4Tb3lpa2s.1639336@.f28e622/13198

The question

"how would my actions look, written up in detail on the pages of other newspaper - around the world?" is also pretty good question. It might be asked of The New York Times itself - and asked of some of the other posters, as well.

I think

bbbuck - 10:19am May 24, 2003 EST (# 11913 of 11914)

alot about nothing. But it works for me.

(1 following message)

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense