L
Logic
Guest
Back during the cold war, America (under President Reagan) announced a program for strategic missile defence that would allow enemy missiles, air craft, and other airborne threats, to be targeted and eliminated from space, through the use of a large satellite system that would orbit the earth. This project, often called "Star Wars", was known as SDI, or the 'Strategic Defense Initiative". At the time, critics called the project unrealistic, but since Russia and the US were so competitive at the time (this was the cold war after all), Russia announced their own similar project. Ridiculous sums of money were poured into both projects, and in a sense, SDI became an economic weapon, contributing to the Soviet Union's downfall by causing them to spend enormous amounts of money to compete with the US. Once the cold war ended, though, I don't think anyone really believed that either project would ever come to fruition. Big space lasers? Nah, not gonna happen. The project was cancelled in the early 90s, though military research of course never ended. Since then, different presidential administrations have proposed varying different missile defense systems, such as "GPALS", but these were merely proposed, not developed.
Now, though, it looks as if it will not only happen, but that it's just around the corner. George W. Bush is determined to bring the project into fruition, and the system is intended to be deployed, at a cost of up to US$60 billion, by 2005. The project will breach the 1972 ABM treaty with Russia, but Bush has stated that if the Russians won't change their terms, he will go ahead with it anyway. Previous presidents (such as Bush Sr.) have suggested that the project could be a joint venture by the US and Russia, but the current project is being developed solely by the United States. The US has has oposition from many nations regarding the development of SDI, but the project continues.
There is absolutely no intention for the project to be turned over to the United Nations, which I believe it should be, indicating that this project is, just as it was in the cold war, being developed to give the US a nearly unmatchable military component, and consequently, effective control of the planet through military power. Of course, we all know that not even United Nations resistance will stop Bush, who effectively destroyed the UN's power by ignoring them and going to war with Iraq against their decisions. This is not a case of the US trying to keep peace throughout the world, but rather a case of the US trying to gain and maintain control of the world.
During the cold war, neither Russia nor the US fired on each other, because they knew that if one country deployed a nuclear strike, the other would deploy a retaliation strike moments later, and both countries would be devastated. With this system in place, particularly as the technology improves in accuracy and effectiveness, the US will be able to stop foreign nuclear weapons from reaching their country, meaning they will be able to attack without retalliation. Considering Bush's recent actions, and indeed America's past use of large-scale weapons, it seems now that the world may yet again see the use of nuclear \ atomic weapons.
This is happening NOW. This isn't some far off fantasy, or science fiction, or even an unrealistic military objective.. In no time at all, Bush will have a space-deployed weapon system, capable of being pointed at anything, anywhere, on or around planet earth. Bush has demonstrated that he has no hesitation using military power to achieve goals. Though the system is technically 'defensive', the offensive potential of such a weapon system is obvious, and once deployed, it would simply become another part of the US military's arsenal, and another step, if not the defining step, towards a world governed not through peace by the United Nations, but through the threat of destruction, by George W. Bush.
Whether or not you support Bush, and whether or not you are American, this is cause for concern. If anyone has a point of view on this, please share it, and lets have some open minded discussion on the topic.
Now, though, it looks as if it will not only happen, but that it's just around the corner. George W. Bush is determined to bring the project into fruition, and the system is intended to be deployed, at a cost of up to US$60 billion, by 2005. The project will breach the 1972 ABM treaty with Russia, but Bush has stated that if the Russians won't change their terms, he will go ahead with it anyway. Previous presidents (such as Bush Sr.) have suggested that the project could be a joint venture by the US and Russia, but the current project is being developed solely by the United States. The US has has oposition from many nations regarding the development of SDI, but the project continues.
There is absolutely no intention for the project to be turned over to the United Nations, which I believe it should be, indicating that this project is, just as it was in the cold war, being developed to give the US a nearly unmatchable military component, and consequently, effective control of the planet through military power. Of course, we all know that not even United Nations resistance will stop Bush, who effectively destroyed the UN's power by ignoring them and going to war with Iraq against their decisions. This is not a case of the US trying to keep peace throughout the world, but rather a case of the US trying to gain and maintain control of the world.
During the cold war, neither Russia nor the US fired on each other, because they knew that if one country deployed a nuclear strike, the other would deploy a retaliation strike moments later, and both countries would be devastated. With this system in place, particularly as the technology improves in accuracy and effectiveness, the US will be able to stop foreign nuclear weapons from reaching their country, meaning they will be able to attack without retalliation. Considering Bush's recent actions, and indeed America's past use of large-scale weapons, it seems now that the world may yet again see the use of nuclear \ atomic weapons.
This is happening NOW. This isn't some far off fantasy, or science fiction, or even an unrealistic military objective.. In no time at all, Bush will have a space-deployed weapon system, capable of being pointed at anything, anywhere, on or around planet earth. Bush has demonstrated that he has no hesitation using military power to achieve goals. Though the system is technically 'defensive', the offensive potential of such a weapon system is obvious, and once deployed, it would simply become another part of the US military's arsenal, and another step, if not the defining step, towards a world governed not through peace by the United Nations, but through the threat of destruction, by George W. Bush.
Whether or not you support Bush, and whether or not you are American, this is cause for concern. If anyone has a point of view on this, please share it, and lets have some open minded discussion on the topic.
