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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?

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lchic - 02:53pm Oct 29, 2003 EST (# 15910 of 15925)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

pointy heads lead to a classic DOWD / LIBERTIES

How Green Is Their Valley

By MAUREEN DOWD

WASHINGTON — Dick and Rummy are in the lemon- and-raspberry-striped wing chairs in the Oval Office.

They like to kick back at the end of the day, down a Johnny Walker Red and kick around how they will organize the country and the world to their liking.

Junior is out on the South Lawn, practicing placing the ball on the batting tee for the opening day of White House T-ball on Sunday.

The president is very, very excited because the San Diego Chicken is coming.

He is also puffed up because he has learned a new word: "counter-pro- lif-er-A-tion."

At one point, W. runs up to the French doors to pester the two older men: "Is it up yet? Can I see it?"

"No, son," Dick says in that slow, deliberate voice. "We're still working on it."

W. grins and races back to the diamond.

"He thinks the missile shield really exists?" Rummy smirks, sipping his Scotch. "So did Reagan. Probably better that way. Keeps the Commies guessing when the president sounds so sincere."

"Yup."

"We can stick it to the Russians, the Chinese and the North Koreans — to say nothing of Daschle, Biden and Kerry. And think of all our buddies at Boeing! Think of the billions that will go to Lockheed, TRW, General Dynamics! Can you believe those pointy heads on the ethics board want us to divest our portfolios?

"Missile defense may be pie in the sky, but our defense budget pie is, as the Kid likes to say, growing taller. Here's to the private sector — we'll be back there some day. O'Neill wants us to make sure a lot of aluminum goes into the Emperor's New Shield."

"Yup."

"It's just a matter of months before we have the arms race seething again, no matter what that flower child at the State Department thinks. Nothing like a race with only one runner. No fun being a sole superpower if you can't blow up the other guys' arsenals with imaginary airborne lasers.

"Dick, did you listen to that speech Junior gave at Fort McNair today? We've got to teach him how to pronounce `nuclear.' Tell him it rhymes with `avuncular.' On second thought, maybe not. And keep the details on the shield out of his speeches. It will only confuse him and enrage Chirac, Blair and Koizumi. The boy is still lost in space on who's a `strategic competitor,' who's a `strategic partner' and who's a `strategic adversary.' "

"Yup."

"How's Project Blackened Skies going?" Rummy asks. "Baby, the acid rain must fall. The canary in the coal mine must croak. It's payback time for West Virginia and our brothers in oil, gas, nuclear power, mining and chemicals. By the time we're through ramming coal down the public's throats, that grimy Welsh town in `How Green Was My Valley' will look like Aspen. We'll probably have to add gas masks to the prescription drug benefit. Soot, smog, tobacco smoke, arsenic, carbon dioxide, toxic garbage from nuclear power plants, vertical drilling, horizontal drilling and loop-de-loop drilling. It's a good start, Dick, a very good start. Is that muzzle tight on Christie?"

"Yup."

"I can't believe all that whining about arsenic hasn't died down. Those babies who think we're uncaring and we base too many of our policies on cost-benefit analysis. Let's just hope the public doesn't realize the true beauty of this formula. They bear the cost; we and our cronies get the benefit."

"Yup."

John Ashcroft pops his head in. "Is this a prayer meeting? Over at Justice, we have ours in the morning. You guys aren't drinking, are you?"

Dick's mouth curls down on one side and the attorney general scurries away. He almost bumps into W., who is scampering back, out of breath.

"Hey, Uncle Dick, is it launched yet? Does it really look like a bunch of little colored paper umbrellas

lchic - 02:55pm Oct 29, 2003 EST (# 15911 of 15925)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

"Hey, Uncle Dick, is it launched yet? Does it really look like a bunch of little colored paper umbrellas in the sky?"

"Bedtime, bigtime, son."

"I talked to Ostrich Legs Putin on the hot line today," W. proudly tells Rummy as he leaves. "I told him we shouldn't counter-pro-lif-er-ATE each other!"

There is silence for many minutes. Finally, Rummy barks: "Dick, speak up! What are you thinking about?"

"Steak."

lchic - 03:01pm Oct 29, 2003 EST (# 15912 of 15925)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

On Dowd : http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/741snfel.asp

lchic - 03:23pm Oct 29, 2003 EST (# 15913 of 15925)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

On Chafetz : http://www.rhodesscholar.org/win01.html

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