Missile defense is a go
October 25, 2001 5:49 PM   Subscribe

Missile defense is a go and other highlights of the 2002 defense appropriations bill.
posted by kliuless (8 comments total)
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011025/aponline133436_000.htm
posted by BlitzK at 6:12 PM on October 25, 2001


money can't buy me love
posted by quercus at 8:22 PM on October 25, 2001


Missile defense ... boy that sure would have helped against those hijacked 767s and those envelopes of anthrax. We can't possibly spend enough money on that.
posted by sacre_bleu at 8:38 PM on October 25, 2001


yeah, i think $8 billion to raise teachers' salaries next year would do more to make the world a safer place now and in the future than on missile defense.

btw, here's a link (PDF 79 pp) to the pentagon's quadrennial defense review. its emphasis is on "managing risks" instead of imagining a threat scenario and response, hence the need for "layered" deterrence and defense.

oh, and a $200 billion industry is about to be announced today.
posted by kliuless at 6:52 AM on October 26, 2001


The bill hasn't been released yet, but when it is, you can track it (and all other 2002 appropriations activity) here.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:23 AM on October 26, 2001


Missile defense is no doubt a blackhole boondoggle, but it may have a payoff someday. Like in blasting asteroids from outer space trying to bring us a new K-T boundary. Then again, we are a long way from that capability-but the number of objects that cross earth's orbit is kinda scary. So maybe there's a silver lining-maybe we are being guided by a higher intelligence in going this way...
posted by quercus at 7:26 AM on October 26, 2001


Hrm, I think that the "missile defense" is actually bait and switch for a space-based offense. In other words I don't expect that anyone is really fooled that a missile defense really has a chance of being effective, or meets our current defense needs, but building a missile defense also creates the infrastructure to eliminate anything in space.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 7:46 AM on October 26, 2001


I agree Skallas-however say you had a large asteroid that would survive the descent through the atmosphere-it's conceivable you could blast it into many smaller fragments which would burn up in the descent. So changing the orbit isn't the sole consideration. But this is all pie in the sky anyway.
What would the world be like if we got news a 7 mile -see ya later civilization-diameter object was on a collision course with us and scheduled to impact in 3 years.
Would we all pitch in for a common effort? Or would hell break out worse than it is now?
Should we fake an oncoming catastrophe to focus unity-even if the ruse lasts only for a week or so?
posted by quercus at 9:04 AM on October 26, 2001


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