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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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rshow55 - 11:11am Sep 18, 2002 EST (# 4369 of 4383)
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.

The human race is in a struggle to accomodate modernity - including science, engineering, and modern sociotechnical systems -- with the human condition, and humane values. Including religious values. Including national and tribe values. In a way that can work, from childhood up - a way that works emotionally, practically - comfortably - sustainably. That struggle's gone on a long time - for centuries in the west. That struggle has been HARD for Americans and Europeans, and remains so.

The struggle has been hard for the Arab countries - and whatever disagreements we may have -- they know that.

That's some common ground.

If we wanted to find much more satisfactory end games -- from a lot of points of view - we could make a lot of progress is we were willing to check facts that matter to decision making - - and willing to do so especially when people are uncomfortable about getting them checked.

Last year, Tom Daschle , the Senate Majority Leader , pledged to try for workable patterns of discourse in A New Deal for a New Senate http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/10/opinion/10DASC.html

" I believe the only way forward is to embrace a spirit of principled compromise. What this requires is open debate, because it is only through debate that we can find new areas of agreement.

Open debate, to be solid, has to be based on reason and correct, checkable information.

Eisenhower became very concerned about patterns he'd seen, and warned against the military-industrial(political) complex in his FAREWELL ADDRESS of January 17, 1961 http://www.geocities.com/~newgeneration/ikefw.htm Everything Eisenhower was worried about has happened. People with power are going to have to ask that some key things be checked. It matters because the United States, intentionally or not, is setting up situations that lead to fighting and death, rather than peace and stability.

One way to handle many of these issues would be to discuss missile defense according to the patterns set out in MD1896-1899 rshow55 4/30/02 10:10am

Those patterns , or patterns like them - can be use to establish facts and do it beyond reasonable doubt - - for all to see -- and on an umpired basis - when people care enough.

rshow55 - 11:11am Sep 18, 2002 EST (# 4370 of 4383)
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.

With the current concerns about Iraq, if people take time - - and insist on facts - - a great deal of muddle that is not in America's interest, or the world's, could be straightened out.

And with some rather straighforward logic - that nobody should be able to deny - we should be able to arrange ways to find out what arms Iraq has - within the auspices of the United Nations.

Especially if nation states in the UN were willing to ask some other questions, as well - of the US and of each other - with enough prestige to actually get some key things closed.

One example among a number. Either John F. Kennedy was killed by a lone assassin, or he was killed by a group - - that was powerful enough to get itself protected. I don't know if I believe that story set out in the movie JFK - - but the facts could be taken to closure - beyond a reasonable doubt. Was there a coup, where military and industrial forces took over key aspects of the US government? That could be checked.

A lot about the history of the Cold War could be checked. And established well enough so that people could make better, safer, more just decisions, individually and collectively.

If we understood more key facts about the past - we could deal with current risks much better -- in the interest of the United States, and the whole world.

Enough is going badly enough - things are out of balance enough -- there's enough crazy behavior - that people ought to seriously consider getting some key facts established - so that we'd know enough - about the past, and about ourselves - so that stable, peaceful relations might have a decent chance.

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