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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 - 12:34am Oct 8, 2002 EST (# 4748 of 4757)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

GU | Afghanistan | USA FORCES
Manners maketh man ...

"" "When they came to my house they didn't knock on the door, they just forced their way in," said Qarimullah, 28, a young farmer in the village, recalling last week's raid. "They broke the locks on the doors and our safe boxes. They took my camera and they threw all our clothes on the floor. They said they were looking for al-Qaida but why did they come into our houses like this? This is not right."

When America began Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan a year ago it was largely welcomed. At last the west was promising to bring peace and reconstruction to a country run by warlords and ravaged by drought and 20 years of conflict.

But slowly Afghans have grown resentful of the thousands of US troops. The bitterness is especially deep in .....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,806525,00.html

gisterme - 12:46am Oct 8, 2002 EST (# 4749 of 4757)

lchic 10/8/02 12:14am

"... 'Merely replacing a 'leader' doesn't right the structural ills of a country, nor, assist the lot of the people'..."

That's true, lchic. I couldn't agree more. However if the leader replaced is as repressive as Saddam, it's hard to imagine how any replacement could be worse. The people of Iraq do not now have the option of selecting a leader that has their best interests at heart. As some of your previous posts have shown Saddam does not care at all about the general well-being of his people. If Saddam is deposed let's hope the Iraqui people will have that option after the dust settles.

gisterme - 12:59am Oct 8, 2002 EST (# 4750 of 4757)

Before the recent "shutdown for urgent maintenanace" there was a post from comdata I wanted to reply to. Don't see it now...it just seems to have dissapeared. I can't help but wonder what happened to it...

lchic - 01:20am Oct 8, 2002 EST (# 4751 of 4757)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

FISK

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/ http://www.independent.co.uk/search.jsp?keywords=robert%20Fisk&field=byline

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Arab Press Reaction to U.S. Plans to Attack Iraq http://www.worldpress.org/Mideast/738.cfm

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George Bush is turning to Americans to bolster his efforts to oust Saddam Hussein. The American president also appears set to win backing for military action from Congress. Yet getting other countries on side remains difficult ... more
http://www.economist.com/

lchic - 01:30am Oct 8, 2002 EST (# 4752 of 4757)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Nations get swamped by ''monsters'' ...

the Iraqui people would probably have been 'fit' to join the EU soon had they not been railroaded.

A function of a world body (UN) should be to set out the mimimum standards and ideal standards (for the times) ... then leaders who fall short 'must' be shaped or 'shot' so to speak.

Why should whole nations be punished and repressed for decades by 'wickedly-bad leadership' !?!

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RS did note-missing posts by commondata and Gisterme... perhaps he has copy :)

lchic - 01:51am Oct 8, 2002 EST (# 4753 of 4757)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

"" Funnier than war

In the Middle East, where the words “peace process” will reliably raise a wry laugh, the hopeless illogic of the two sides is ever a source of black humour:

A scorpion wanted to cross a river, but could not swim. So he asked a frog to ferry him across on his back. “Certainly not,” said the frog, “If I take you on my back, you’ll sting me.” “No I won’t,” said the scorpion, “because if I do, we’ll both drown.” The frog saw the logic in this, so he let the scorpion hop on, and struck out across the water. Half way across, he felt a terrible pain. The scorpion had stung him. As the two of them sank below the ripples, the frog asked the scorpion: “Why on earth did you do that?” Replied the drowning scorpion, “Because this is the Middle East.”

http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US7/FOLK/laughing.html

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