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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.

lchic - 01:41am Jun 19, 2003 EST (# 12589 of 12606)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Intelligence 'being politicised' / June 19, 2003

AUSTRALIAN intelligence services had been dangerously politicised by the Government, a strategic think-tank said today.

Intelligence agencies could be influenced to support the government line if their work remained in the political debate, Stratwise director Adam Cobb said.

"The long-term influence on Australian intelligence agencies could be a very negative one on national security," Dr Cobb told AAP.

Prime Minister John Howard had broken the long-standing convention of refusing to comment on intelligence issues with the children-overboard controversy and repeated it with terrorist attacks on Bali and the Iraq war.

"It is precedent-breaking and the Prime Minister first did it in his (National) Press Club speech when he was talking about children overboard and he referred directly to an ONA (Office of National Assessment) intelligence report which floored a lot of people," Dr Cobb said.

"My real concern is that they're politicising intelligence gathering and even if there isn't direct word coming down from the minister to view something one way or the other, these guys aren't stupid.

"They know that there's a particular line the Government is pursuing, there could a temptation to align their assessments and research to at least not conflict with the Government's line."

Dr Cobb said the political debate about Australian intelligence warnings of a Bali terrorist attack and of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction could significantly undermine intelligence gathering.

"Because good intelligence is all about having a sceptical, questioning approach to information and just seeing where it takes you as opposed to having a predisposition and pulling the facts in to support a case," he said.

"In terms of real efforts to remain objective and to make sure that the information that goes up the chain of command is accurate (these) could be underlined by the children-overboard thing, Bali and now Iraq."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6620634%5E1702,00.html

lchic - 01:59am Jun 19, 2003 EST (# 12590 of 12606)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Showalter didn't you have a problem regarding 'Political' ignorance of the 'nature and purpose' of intelligently_weighted judgement?

lchic - 05:00am Jun 19, 2003 EST (# 12591 of 12606)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

What The World Thinks of America

""ABC's Tony Jones will be ...

Confronting a critical question at the heart of the 21st century, What The World Thinks of America, this special 90-minute debate, will be presented by Andrew Marr, the BBC's political editor, with poll results delivered by Peter Snow with his award-winning magic box of electronic poll graphics. The event will bring together 11 national broadcasters and a range of diverse voices from around the globe to give a multi-national verdict on the United States.

Hosted from the Cabinet War Rooms in London, the program will boast a panel of quality thinkers, movers and shakers, including former Palestinian negotiator Dr Sa'eb Erekat, former cabinet minister Clare Short, US journalist Joe Klein and former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto - a seldom convened brains trust of world views on America's pre-eminence.

Satellite links will create a sense of global conversation, with input from leading broadcasters from Israel, Jordan, South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, France, Britain, Canada, the USA and Australia.

The debate will also reveal the results of a ground-breaking, international survey of attitudes that will capture popular prejudices and convictions about America and there has been a separate poll in the United States testing American's grasp on their public image abroad.

These findings will give a truly global perspective on American values, politics, leadership and popular culture.

Tony Jones is looking forward to being the Australian link to the global broadcast, and to leading a discussion with a distinguished home panel which will provide an informed and forceful Australian perspective.

"Australians mix and match from an assortment of feelings about America depending on the time and subject," he says. "Many, while strongly supporting free enterprise, also distrust America's more ideological forms of capitalism. On the other hand, conservative Australians share a view that not only Australian security but prosperity, too, is guaranteed by support for American values, military, diplomatic and business initiatives."

http://www.abc.net.au/america/about.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/america/

lchic - 06:07am Jun 19, 2003 EST (# 12592 of 12606)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

BBC - hosted above

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/wtwta/default.stm

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