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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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almarst2002 - 09:10pm Dec 29, 2002 EST (# 7130 of 7136)

ANKARA, Turkey –– U.S. officials said Saturday they made progress on a possible aid package to help protect Turkey's struggling economy from any damage caused by a possible war in neighboring Iraq.

"We've established an agreement on the overall structure of the assistance," John Taylor, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for international affairs, told reporters at the end of two days of talks in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Taylor did not elaborate on the scope of aid. Turkish news reports have said Turkey wants up to $28 billion.

"The overall magnitude is not the thing that we focused on. We focused on trying to make it as useful for Turkey in the event of a conflict," Taylor said.

Turkey was a staging point for air raids during the 1991 Gulf War and its support is crucial to any U.S. military operation against Iraq. But Turkey prefers a peaceful solution to the situation, fearing a new war could devastate its economy or destabilize the region.

Turkish newspapers say Washington is looking to use Turkish bases, ports and railroads and possibly deploy tens of thousands of troops to Turkey. The U.S. and Turkish governments have not confirmed any of the reports.

Turkey says it has lost up to $40 billion in trade with Iraq over the past decade.

Turkey's National Security Council met Friday to discuss its possible role in a war. But the leaders did not say if they would help Washington, such as allowing it to use its airspace or military bases in a war.

Taylor was accompanied by U.S. Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman. The two met with members of Turkey's economy ministry and Turkish Foreign Secretary Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal on Saturday.

Ziyal "conveyed to us the sense of the National Security Council and we conveyed to him our report of where we stand," Grossman said. "We're very satisfied with the consultations and the cooperation that we have from our Turkish ally."

Though Turkey's leaders have long expressed opposition to an attack, Turkey is likely to have little choice but to extend support to the United States if Washington resorts to war.

almarst2002 - 09:11pm Dec 29, 2002 EST (# 7131 of 7136)

Saudi Arabia has told American military officials that the kingdom would make its airspace, air bases and an important operations center available to the United States in the event of war with Iraq, senior military officials say. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/29/international/middleeast/29SAUD.html?ex=1042117473&ei=1&en=7bc0f895f999c228

almarst2002 - 09:15pm Dec 29, 2002 EST (# 7132 of 7136)

Stan Goff served in the U.S. military for two decades, much of the time with Special Forces training Third World armies. - http://www.consortiumnews.com/1999/122299a.html

lunarchick - 06:49am Dec 30, 2002 EST (# 7133 of 7136)

"" El Salvador | To the slick, manicured, round-eyed, well-to-do, the poor and the beggars were invisible, as invisible as the blackened carboneros, the worm-glutted market babies, the brooding teens with raggedy clothes, prominent ribs and red eyes glaring out of the spotty shade on street corners.

They have to be invisible so they can be ignored. They have to be sub-human so they can be killed.

(see link above)

almarst2002 - 07:38am Dec 30, 2002 EST (# 7134 of 7136)

U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup; Rumsfeld Helped Open Door to Trade in Weapons That Is Now Deplored... Trade in Chemical Arms Allowed Despite Their Use on Iranians, Kurds - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52241-2002Dec29.html

almarst2002 - 07:44am Dec 30, 2002 EST (# 7135 of 7136)

http://www.iraqjournal.org/index.html

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