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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 - 03:56pm Feb 16, 2003 EST (# 9002 of 17697)
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.

In 8979 <a href="/webin/WebX?14@13.DDr1b0YuYGb.1124165@.f28e622/10505">rshow55 2/16/03 6:17am</a> I posted this:

I've been working on Guardian threads since June 2000, and on the NYT Missile Defense thread since September 25, 2000 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.DDr1b0YuYGb.1124165@.f28e622/2006 where I had an all-day meeting on the web with an authoritative figure.

A recounting of what the Missile Defense thread has done since then is set out in Psychwar, Casablanca - - and terror from #151 http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee7a163/159 on. Links before March 1, 2002 are no longer on this thread, but I'll be providing accessible links to the summaries from #151-156 today.

I was asked to post on the missile defense thread by KateNYT - and it was clear that my primary interest at the time was nuclear disarmament. There's been a great deal of work on missile defense proper on this thread, as well, reviewed at #84 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.DDr1b0YuYGb.1124165@.f28e622/99 - and with many links to one aspect - the ABL system - at 8956-8959 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@13.DDr1b0YuYGb.1124165@.f28e622/10482 - - I'm proud of the technical work on missile defense - but the thread has been more focused on issues of peace and nuclear disarmament. Perhaps there's a moral - that might perhaps interest KateNYT - as expressed by Verlyn Klinkenborg in Accepting the Weather December 26, 2002

The one thing I do remember is this: you have to be careful where you dump the season's first tractor-bucket full of snow because that's where all the rest of the plowed snow - a mountain of it - will inevitably go. . . .

Here is a summary of postings, from March 1, 2001, in six parts.

rshow55 - 04:02pm Feb 16, 2003 EST (# 9003 of 17697)
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.

rshowalter - 04:00pm Mar 1, 2001 EST (#813-818

Summary of postings between Sept 25, 2000 and March 1, 2001 (#1)

My involvement with the Missile Defense thread began with 07:32am Sep 25, 2000 EST (#266) Ridding the world of nuclear weapons, this year or next year. What would have to happen? rshowalt 9/25/00 7:32am .

For the rest of that day, I had a discussion with "becq," who I believe is President Clinton,

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md266.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md273.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md280.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md290.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md300.htm

ending at #304, which is worth reading in itself ... rshowalt 9/25/00 5:28pm http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md304.htm

There's much else, involving careful argument and hard work, but it makes sense to pick up the thread more recently, when it became clear, again, that there might be an opening fit for the practical large scale reduction, or elimination, of nuclear weapons. Key passages are set out and hotkeyed here, but I'm proud of the text in between, as well.

#640 http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md639.htm . . . Is nuclear disarmament something so far outside the real of the possible so that it is kind of foolish to have a debate on something you cant do anything about ? No one need doubt the importance of dealing with the other clear and present dangers. But is nuclear disarmament - actually undiscussable, beyond the pale? Plenty of able people, including senior military people, favor nuclear disarmament rshowalter 2/1/01 6:49pm

#374, Signatories of the Global Security Institute appeal as of October 2, 2000 seem well worth listing, because I find the list hopeful: rshowalt 10/4/00 5:08am

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md374.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md379.htm

#664, An operational definition of Good Theory in real sciences for real people. and it applies to good military doctrine (which is military theory, built to use.). rshowalter 2/9/01 1:53pm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md664_667b.htm

http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md00100s/md665_669b.htm

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