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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 - 08:05pm Sep 23, 2002 EST (# 4495 of 17697)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

If 'full information' is having all the dots, and if democracy is about 'full information' ... then the question is

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So USA and UK (who keep 'dots' from their own people, and tell their people "Don't dare touch 'those' dots", "those neither - they're nuclear dots", "nor those they're secret dots"), are set to go into Iraq so that the people of Iraq can 'have all their dots' ....

Understanding all this gets to be quite a struggle!

lchic - 05:02am Sep 24, 2002 EST (# 4496 of 17697)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

Gore Calls Bush's Policy a Failure on Several Fronts
In one of his strongest assessments of Mr. Bush, Mr. Gore said the administration had wasted an opportunity to rally international support after the attacks. He cited new instances of anti-Americanism even among traditional allies of the United States, including in this week's national elections in Germany.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/24/politics/24GORE.html

In the end, 19th-century imperialism was a diversion. It's hard not to suspect that the Bush doctrine is also a diversion — a diversion from the real issues of dysfunctional security agencies, a sinking economy, a devastated budget and a tattered relationship with our allies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/24/opinion/24KRUG.html
[ lchic : a true Empire would increase the prosperity and standards of all - wouldn't it? ]

Iraq also has a 95 percent literacy rate and a secular middle class .... The most ticklish challenge ahead is not overthrowing Saddam but managing the resulting upheaval for a decade afterward.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/24/opinion/24KRIS.html
[ lchic : how does the Iraq literacy rate cp to USA? ]

lchic - 05:13am Sep 24, 2002 EST (# 4497 of 17697)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

Saddam has "military plans" for chemical and biological weapons - dossier http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=336177

Up to 1,700 Palestinians were butchered in the massacre by Lebanese militiamen allied to the Israelis. Israeli troops surrounded the camps as the killings went on but were told by their commanders not to interfere. Mr Sharon was Israeli Minister of Defence at the time and was forced to resign after the Israeli Kahan commission condemned him and several senior Israeli officers for not preventing the slaughter.
http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=336097

Bush’s administration is attempting to garner support for a tough new resolution threatening Mr Hussein with dire consequences if he fails to comply. Meanwhile, if a renewed stream of leaks from senior officials is to be believed, it is making military preparations and plans for the day—presumably not very far off—when diplomacy fails.

That day seemed to come even closer at the weekend, when, following a meeting between
http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1351288
http://www.economist.com/

lchic - 08:36am Sep 24, 2002 EST (# 4498 of 17697)
ultimately TRUTH outs : TRUTH has to be morally forcing : build on TRUTH it's a strong foundation

Interesting how the 'dots' don't really play out until a sense of 'fairness', a feeling of justice being enacted, an attempt to set things right - for the record, has been played through.

If the call to 'tidy-up Iraq' were to come from countries of similar culture - then the polarised mindsets planning retribution might refocus on the issues not the players.

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