Obama wants to ban weapons in space.

[subroc]

Please don't let this clown cripple our ability to defend ourselves.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...50O15X20090125

[M Remington]

It sounds to me like he's cranking down the rhetoric and the machismo that plagued us during the Bush administration. That's a good thing! I feel comfortable that we can respond with our other weapons systems to any act of aggression. The next thing you know, you'll be whining if Obama kills the non-functional missile shield.

Do you really think Obama is going to cripple our national defense?

[subroc]

...Do you really think Obama is going to cripple our national defense?

Yes, I think he is fully capable of it as an act of appeasment to his extreme left leaning base without considering the unintended consequenses.

[kjrice]

It sounds to me like he's cranking down the rhetoric and the machismo that plagued us during the Bush administration. That's a good thing! I feel comfortable that we can respond with our other weapons systems to any act of aggression. The next thing you know, you'll be whining if Obama kills the non-functional missile shield.

Do you really think Obama is going to cripple our national defense?

He is already off to a good start.

[YardleyLabs]

Nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction have been outlawed in space by treaty (to which the US is a signatory) and by international law since 1967. For years virtually all nations of the world have been trying to have the terms of that agreement extended to ban all weapons from space. The US under Bush has been the primary obstacle to implementation of such a ban consistent with the Bush administration's unilateral rejection on other weapons control agreements originally sought and negotiated by the US.

[dback]

The US under Bush has been the primary obstacle to implementation of such a ban consistent with the Bush administration's unilateral rejection on other weapons control agreements originally sought and negotiated by the US.

Hmmm....you say that as though it were a bad thing. So instead of trying to baffle us with your BS, you could have simply said 'yes', BO is trying to cripple our ability to defend ourselves while President Bush was determined to keep us in a position of strength.

[YardleyLabs]

Hmmm....you say that as though it were a bad thing. So instead of trying to baffle us with your BS, you could have simply said 'yes', BO is trying to cripple our ability to defend ourselves while President Bush was determined to keep us in a position of strength.

I will admit that I tend to view weapons in space as offensive, not defensive weapons. But then I also oppose spending more money on the so-called missile defense system that has been used to funnel money to the arms industry for years.

[Hew]

But then I also oppose spending more money on the so-called missile defense system that has been used to funnel money to the arms industry for years.

There are rational arguments that can be made that ABM technology is destabilizing, but you lose some credibility on the issue when you make Tom Dashole-esque comments like "so-called missle defense system." For something that you imply doesn't work or doesn't exist, the Russians seem awfully pissed about us basing "so-called" missle defense system components in the Czech Republic and Poland. Do we have the SDI that Reagan dreamed of? No. Do we have an operational ability to knock down a few dozen nukes in flight? From what I've read, it sure seems so. The Russians sure seem to think so.

[YardleyLabs]

There are rational arguments that can be made that ABM technology is destabilizing, but you lose some credibility on the issue when you make Tom Dashole-esque comments like "so-called missle defense system." For something that you imply doesn't work or doesn't exist, the Russians seem awfully pissed about us basing "so-called" missle defense system components in the Czech Republic and Poland. Do we have the SDI that Reagan dreamed of? No. Do we have an operational ability to knock down a few dozen nukes in flight? From what I've read, it sure seems so. The Russians sure seem to think so.

My use of the "so-called" comment was based on the abysmal track record of the systems in actually stopping missiles in a realistic combat scenario. The Russian reaction has to do with their fears of military entanglements between the US and the West with their border states. That reaction, whether justified or not, has been consistent since WWII. Imagine how we would react if Russia entered into a military compact with either Mexico or Canada -- even if it involved weapons of at best questionable capability.

[Hew]

My use of the "so-called" comment was based on the abysmal track record of the systems in actually stopping missiles in a realistic combat scenario.

Abysmal? Really? The Aegis system has been profoundly successful at intercepting late stage ballistic missles and is currently operational. The Ground Based Midcourse Defense is not as far along as Aegis, but still has a 57% success rate on hit-to-kill tests and can only get better as the technology evolves. With systems like these, the goal is to deter an enemy from having us find out how well they'd work in an actual combat scenario. One thing's for sure, though,... had people like yourself been running the country the success rate of anti-ballistic missle tests would be sitting at 0% right now.

Given China has only just been able to orbit a man around the earth, and Russia can barely put a submarine to sea without it sinking, I can see why they would want to freeze US military technology/ability at its current level. I just don't understand why you and Obama want to.

The Russian reaction has to do with their fears of military entanglements between the US and the West with their border states. That reaction, whether justified or not, has been consistent since WWII. Imagine how we would react if Russia entered into a military compact with either Mexico or Canada -- even if it involved weapons of at best questionable capability.

Russian knows full well that horse already left the barn a decade ago when Poland and the Czech Republic were admitted into NATO. It just seems odd that Russia would threaten Poland with a nuke attack and send warships to visit Venezuela in response to an ABM system that is "so-called" and has an "abysmal" record.