Praise Bush for building the Missile Defense System

This is the cleanest and most important military project that I know of. How much energy will be needed to completely defend the USA in a worst case, full-scale war? Which nations are building a MDS? Who thought of it first? Which nation has the highest levels of precision and accuracy historically, and which will in the future?

GW will never ever get my praise.....he does not deserve praise

A MDS won't be worth a tinkers damn against bio/chem weapons.

The cold war is OVER! Are the mds going to used against space aliens or China? Who? This is just a convient way for the neocons to shovel tax dollars to their favorite high tech campaign contributers.

It's a brave new world.

[edit on 21-12-2005 by whaaa]

I have to side with this
Space is nice and all but this is not what we have to be looking into at this time in our lives.

It's garbage. Will give people a false sense of security and promote preemptive nuclear strike nutball policies. Dangerous. End of Matter. Canada did well to not join this project.

So you are saying that if North Korea were to fire a ballistic missle with a bio payload, and the MDS shot it down before it hit it's target, it wouldn't be worth anything?

Frankly, the limited shield is EXACTLY what the US needs in order to prevent an attack by a nation such as NK, Iran, etc.

I think the Missile Defense System is definitely needed. And it is something that will be improved and added onto into the future, as technology developes. Most people don't realize that our nation has absolutely no defense against an ICBM attack. When a regime as evil as North Korea's has the ability to target our nation with ICBM's, I feel it is incumbent upon our leadership to do everything in their power to protect us from such an attack.

If this system was so useless then we wouldn't see countries like Russia spending boatloads of money to develope missiles that can change course mid-flight and avoid being shot down. These same countries would have never objected to our withdrawl from the ABM treaty if they felt that such a system was useless and flawed.

Thank God that President Bush has the political courage to set such high standards for our military and the private sector, to come up with a system to defend this nation from nuclear ICBM's. And regardless of the Cold War being over, ICBM's are still a very real and very dangerous threat and will continue to be so into the future. This is especially the case with North Korea's willingness to export missile technology to other rogue nations, including Iran.

The lackluster performance of trial fires should give you an inclination of how well the system works.

I guess it is good to have a system, but don't depend on it to save you from all attacks.

Ok............. that is kind of sound, but what happen to MAD?
I think they would not wont the US with all the power we have to turn them into glass! We all know that If thry let the bio or nuke babe go.
We are going to return the fire ten times over.

You are assuming that Kim will always take a reactionary stance and also that he is sound of mind. I believe both of those assumptions are grave miscalculations.

What happens if Kim gets the erge to invade SK? He can say that any US involvement will be met with an ICBM aimed at LA. Without the MDS, we would litterally be powerless to stop him, and would have to submit to him, and allow our ally to be over run by a dictator that starves millions of his own people into eating rotting human corpses.

This aplies to Iran as well. Their leadership is not of the same mindset as the west. They don't think in terms of millions of their own dead, economic catastrophy, etc... They think "we destroyed Isreal, we destroyed America, the great Satan has been struck a mortal blow". They may not care about the ramifications.

This is why I believe a limited MDS is needed at the least. We simply don't have the technology or money to counter Russia or China, and frankly I am comfortable with MAD between us and them. Both nations have a logical thought process to them, and although I view them as a threat, I don't view them as a volitile threat.

A few ABLs, ground based systems, and maybe space based systems that could take out 10 or 12 ICBMs launched at the same time would surely deter the smaller "regional" powers like NK and Iran.

I think it's misrepresentative to say Bush is responsible for MDS. It's an evolution of programs, including SDI, but in truth began in the 1960s.

An assortment of reasons exist for backing off of National Missile Defense, in part because /it didn't work/. And in part due to the end of the Cold War.

A renewed interest emerged with this 'war on terror', and so you have it. But it still doesn't work!

In the past six years of flight tests, here is what the Pentagon's missile-defense agency has demonstrated: A missile can hit another missile in mid-air as long as a) the operators know exactly where the target missile has come from and where it's going; b) the target missile is flying at a slower-than-normal speed; c) it's transmitting a special beam that exaggerates its radar signature, thus making it easier to track; d) only one target missile has been launched; and e) the "attack" happens in daylight.

All of the reasons that SDI was abandoned still exist. Oh we have better technologies and we're improving, but we're still not good enough to do this. God forbid anyone thinks this is some real defense and not something ten years or more down line realisticly speaking.


64.177.207.201...

www.defensetech.org...

www.defensetech.org...

www.armscontrolwonk.com...

I am not below praising bush on the missile defense system but I will not condone the reasons or circumstances of which this system.

Praise, real praise goes to Reagan and the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Many pray and hope that a very expensive and costly national missile defense does not become a Maginot Line in the sky.








seekerof

I have to disagree. Cruise and ballistic missiles are becoming (if they aren't already) a big threat to US national security. Who says the Cold War isn't over? The 9/11 Commission Report panel interviewed an F-16 pilot who scrambled over Washington right after the Pentagon got hit, and he was quoted as saying "You know, I'm thinking Russian cruise missile threat from the sea...." That just goes to show how seriously the US takes that threat, even if it isn't from Russia. I agree wholeheartedly with the decision to start this project. I know it isn't going to have a 100% guarantee, but it's better than nothing, at least in my opinion.

exactly what they said after wwI....we dont need a big navy or an updated military, its a brave new world.....

then came pearl harbor.

I wonder though if its pre-mature.

If I was the one coming up with the Defense shield...I would want the majority of it to be done by lasers, and not missiles.

I would still have missiles...since its always best to have layers of protection, but lasers are cheaper, and can be repeatedly fired, instead of just one. and who cares if russia develops a ICBM that zig zags until it hits...since its not going to out-smart something that moves at the speed of light.

I would have lasers on the ground, on ships, space based, as well as in the air via the ABL and Airships.

Have you guys thought about the possibility that the missle defense is really for hostile extraterrestrials? Think about it.....all of the Democrats hate the idea of missle defense. They are also the ones kept out of the loop. Carter was told that he didn't have a need to know about ufo's. Clinton was not told anything either. Only Republicans like Reagan, Cheney, Bush Sr., and George W. are in the know. The bottom line is this....we are safer because of the missle defense. The laser satellites in orbit as well as the ABL (Boeing 747 with laser cannon) are keeping us safe. Smile....you guys have no idea what awaits out there. Luckily, the Republicans know. And they are keeping us safe

Laser satellites? What?

And i thought the ABL had only limited success....anyone know more about what it's accomplished?

When the Israel / Iran conflict starts in a few weeks and Iran starts tossing midrange missiles towards southern europe in a final act of despiration, you all will be thankfull when the US and her allies defend so/eu using this so called junk system.

I will toss a few stories at you, all items from last weeks news.

Russia and US in the Throes of a New Arms Race
by Jim Kouri
Dec 27, 2005

www.postchronicle.com...

Putin’s Show of Strength Triggers Fear of Fresh Nuclear Arms Race

www.mosnews.com...

NATO Says Russia Reluctant to Safeguard Weapons of Mass Destruction

www.mosnews.com...

International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2005

Russia's anti-West offensive

www.iht.com.../articles/2005/12/23/opinion/edrussia.php