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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.

jorian319 - 02:34pm Sep 15, 2003 EST (# 13683 of 13689)

I think it is worth checking how gisterme and Bush are related. ... When others disagree - it seems to me that they ought to think clearly about why they do.

I think they do think clearly about it, and that the resulting clarity leads them to condemn your approach.

Is it because they think gisterme is GWB ?

No. That's your own private delusion.

If so - what reasons do they have that he shouldn't be forced to admit that - and what reasons do they have that he should ?

A non-starter. Nobody but you thinks that.

Plainly, there are arguments that go both ways.

Plainly, you have failed to justify your rudeness and the conclusion you have jumped to. The argument that gisterme is Bush or someone close to him is specious at best. I would call it fantastic.

How do these arguments and reasons fit together logically?

If you're referring to the arguments that gisterme is Some Important Person, they don't fit together logically at all.

What weights ought these reasons have?

Reasons for thinking gisterme is S.I.P. ? None.

Jorian319 has some reservations about the Guardian Observer

That's not true either (boy this gets tiresome). I have no reservations whatsoever. I regard The Guardian as an unmitigated rag.

mazza9 - 05:29pm Sep 15, 2003 EST (# 13684 of 13689)
"Quae cum ita sunt" Caesar's Gallic Commentaries

For the record I've had "Bob" "Alarmist" and "LeChic" on the ignore list for over six months. Sometimes it's kinda lonely when all there is, is serial drivel from the usual suspects. I wonder what happened to "Chic Filia"?

Directed weapons have improved significantly. I like the idea of stopping them during the boost phase. Of course, with North Korea that might not be necessary. I suspect that the Japanese might decide that pre-emption al la Israel in '81 and the US in '03 has written a whole new chapter in diplomatic response to a perceived threat. China doesn't want a nuclear Japan. Remember their angst goes back over 2,000 years. So China will be encouraged to lean on North Korea.

Re the Chinese and North Korean diesel subs, I believe that SOSUS has probably been updated since the days of the Glomar Challenger. Digital signal processing has come a long way since "The Hunt for Red October"! With the Soviet fleet rusting at Murmansk, (recently, didn't one sink while being towed to a deep water disposal?), the Navy would have assessed the threat from the Chinese and North Korean sub fleet and reacted accordingly, (I HOPE!)

North Korea's 1,000,000 man army could be fried with a handful of neutron bombs. Kill the people and leave the infrastructure. I got no problem with insuring that nucs do not fall into the hands of other crazies. Kim Il Jung or whomever is on my target list, (like ARAFAT). I have now exceeded my paranthetical quotient!!!

Ad Astra Y'ALL

wrcooper - 05:55pm Sep 15, 2003 EST (# 13685 of 13689)

Lou

I've joined you by putting Showalter on my "Ignore List". Hey, why not let's have a discussion about missile defense? Wow, what a concept!

North Korea's 1,000,000 man army could be fried with a handful of neutron bombs.

Th is is insane John Wayne talk, man. Lots of innocent people would be killed along with the North Korean troops. Using nuclear weapons is a terrible idea. I frankly don't think it can be justified under any circumstances. Using them would open a Pandora's box. What if India and Pakistan thought it's okay to use them because the U.S. did? What if some third-world power got their hands on a small nuke and decided that, since the fire wall had been breached, it would be okay to slip it into New York Harbor on a container ship and detonate it? And so forth. We should do everything we can to rid the world of these infernal machines.

As for directed weapons, are you talking about space-based lasers or microwave emitters? What, exactly?

BTW, I'll be out of two for nine days starting tomorrow, so you may not hear back from me for awhile.

Ad astra to you, too. Unfortunately, I always feel it necessary to add, per aspera.

Will

manjumicha20 - 06:13pm Sep 15, 2003 EST (# 13686 of 13689)

mazza,

I applaud your vigoraous "exertions" ...:-).....but I think the whole point of Bush team negotiating with NK (instead of bombing) was because they had realized something you desperately refuse to admit?? just maybe. Btw, I think Japan and SK are going nuclear in not so distant future (both have capability to do so in matter of months)and maybe it is not such a bad thing after all.

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