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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.

lunarchick - 06:35am Nov 26, 2002 EST (# 6302 of 6364)

[1] US government's decision to go to war

[2] chosen target

[3] reason for attacking that country

Push-Marketing of military hardware
OVERSTOCKED
Have to make shelf-space for new supplies

Hard to believe a 'Super-Power' would think like that ... or is it?

lunarchick - 07:56am Nov 26, 2002 EST (# 6303 of 6364)

Iraq

Former head of Iraq Nuclear Policy - now residing in USA

said

families of people who could be helpful to
INVESTIGATORS

are held in Military CAMPS

Scientist + Family must be interviewed outside Iraq to get to 'truth'

Scientist then lives 'elsewhere'

commondata - 08:16am Nov 26, 2002 EST (# 6304 of 6364)

almarst2002 11/17/02 6:20pm - Can you pleas expand on what you see as "religion is part of the problem"?

almarst2002 11/17/02 5:27pm Robert, It seems to me your incursion into Islam in search of the Evil is out of place. Entirely and extreamly.

It's an evil part of the problem when it advocates the death sentence for apostasy and the death sentence for blasphemy. How about a war of words and economics against this form of Islam? Sorry I forgot - OIL.

commondata - 08:35am Nov 26, 2002 EST (# 6305 of 6364)

http://www.accuracy.org/un/

There are certainly legitimate reasons why many Iraqi scientists would want to live and work somewhere with greater safety and political freedom. There is also, however, the consequent and understandable likelihood of scientists exaggerating the level of Iraq's military or WMD programs as well as their own role in those programs, in the hope of persuading international immigration officials of their importance. And finally, another longer term result of such an effort, if carried out on a large scale, will be the stripping of a key component of Iraq's national intellectual and scientific base, with seriously deleterious effects on future efforts to rebuild a modern society.

mazza9 - 11:33am Nov 26, 2002 EST (# 6306 of 6364)
"Quae cum ita sunt" Caesar's Gallic Commentaries

For once I agree with Lunarchick. A tax should be levied and compensation provided. In the 20th century the US spent its resources both human and coinage to save the rest of the world from the evil that lurks in the hearts and minds of some people. We had to spend many millions "over there" to free Europe from the Royalist and then National Socialist excesses. Freedom has a high price but we were willing to spend it. There was no attempt at aggrandizement or territorial gain. Just helping our friends in their time of need.

My Dad served in the Navy hauling troops and material to England for the liberation of Europe. One of my father's cousins served in Port Moresby and then island hopped throughout the Pacific to beat back the Japanese imperialistic aims. When I was in the Air Force my next door neighbor had served as a Flying Tiger in China. He is even mentioned by name in that famous WWII book "God is My Co-Pilot". One evening he spoke to me about his experiences. He spoke of the Chinese he had met while on duty in China including a personal meeting with Chiang Kai Shek. When I asked him why he had volunteered, he didn't say "because of the bounty on Zero's shot down" For him it was a matter of freedom. It appears that he was a student of Chinese history and appreciated their efforts to defened against foreign invaders! China, Burma and India were a theater of operation but in reality all of those peace loving countries were saved by US force of arms and rebuilding aid after the war.

What did we ask for in return for the Marshall Plan? The formation of a United Nation organization where the rule of law and peaceful behavior would be paramount. What did we receive in return? A Cold War and divided world where it appears that the monkees are ruling the zoo! Lunarchick. How much should Australia remand to the US for its nationhood and freedom? How about Japan, China, Korea, Phillipines, etc?

Interestingly, the Germans could return their Marshall aid. They put it in the bank in 1948 and made loans to companies, governmental entities and individuals to rebuild. In 1991 when Germany was reunited they still had the orgninal principal. They used it to rebuild the rest of their own country. What do you say? How about payback to the altruistic United States of America?

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