DEPLOYMENT of NMD announced

“The whithouse has announced the Presidents Decision to deploy the National Missle Defense (NMD) system beginning in 2004 through 2006....10 Missles in the ground by 2004, the next 10 by 2006.

I may never have the chance to Backpack again....(NLH-NOT Laughing Here!):-(”

“I feel safer already.”

“the "Whithouse" was an on purpose..I'm such a 'witty' guy...chuckle, chuckle, chuckle...”

“Not a bad idea, IMHO.”

“I not only feel safer, I feel humored as well.”

“I must confess... I saw "NMD" and thought 'Nosehairs of Mass Destruction'??


Excuse me, but what is this system supposed to protect us from? One of China's 20 missiles? Some idiot firing a Scud (WHICH, I just learned, is 50-Year-Old technology based directly on the V2 fer chrissakes)?

This isn't defense or deterrence; it's PORK.”

“Liberals know all about pork.”

“hehe, Tilt said "pork".

Go get em' ST!”

“YEP, they're tryin' to pork us, BB!!!

ROF!!!

I'd like to see an accurate nickel-by-nickel comparison of liberal and conservative pork, sometime. Wouldn't you... peckerhead? <G>”

“There is nothing accurate about pork, even the pork has pork, and it only turns into bacon eventually.

Damn, I'm hungry.”

“At least conservative pork mostly goes into the military to keep Americans safe. Liberal pork just keeps people dependent on government for their well-being, which in turn keeps liberals in power.”

“What a stupid peckerHEAD.”

“"what's wrong with pork fat? NOTHING!"

aaaaanyway...what do you do for a living, SuperTroll?”

“Bush and previous admins truly fouled up by focusing on a strategic theater ballistic missile defense system instead of perfecting a maritime tactical boost-phase missile defense system.

When you consider the situation in North Korea, the error in judgement seems particularly large.

Consider: NK is more of a threat than Iraq, yet the U.S. is focusing on Iraq. Why? We're concerned about NK's missiles and possible possession of nukes. If we had a maritime missile defense system, we could launch an overwhelming surprise attack on their missile sites using precision ordnance, and then shoot down the ones we miss in the boost phase. North Korea would be hobbled, and we could deal with them at our leisure.

But strategic missile defense is a much easier sell to the ignorant masses, so here we are.”

“Maritime defense systeam? What happens when Mohommad chugs up in his 12 foot raft full of explosives, or when the mighty Iraqi nuclear submarine fleet torpedoes our defense system, then what do we have?”

“It will sure keep the Soviet Union in check though.”

“It's France that I'm worried about.”

“They want our recipe for pork rinds.

I wonder what the range is for those North Korean V2-based Scud copies... can they hit anything besides South Korea with them? If the wind is at their backs?”

“I had some good pulled pork the other day. Where does that leave ME?”

“What is a Missile Defense System going to do against terrorist actions, the likes of what you see in the Mid east, the Cole attack and our own 9/11 attacks?”

“Nuke France!

I sleep under my bed because of North Korea.”

“Happiness is a warm gun.”

“Don't ya just love being on top of the food chain. Ain't got no other predators so let's just hunt each other to extinction......”

“Dave, I figure that some folks just have too much time on their hands.”

“Protection from launch by unauthorized personnel...Launch by Rogue States, Sanctioned Launches made in error or haste, yada yada yada.....

I once was a satellite controller, now I am a Logistician....It has fallen to my office to return Ft Greely to an ACTIVE status after being realigned under BRAC. We stood it up as an installation on 1 October of this year with the understanding that it would be a TEST BED for NMD, not a National Strategic Defense Site. Now we get to enlarge it, and hone the BASEOPS. My next mission will likely be the Logistical support for the new Military unit being formed to provide for the security of the missile field.

Joy oh Joy...Pathman and I may be hiking together in the near future.”

“ wonder what the range is for those North Korean V2-based Scud copies... can they hit anything besides South Korea with them?

NK can threaten the entire pacific rim, possibly even the West Coast. You do remember them "testing" a ballistic missile by sending it flying high over Japan?

NK is the greater threat to the U.S. - not Iraq. But Bush needs an easy victory to win the '04 election.”

“NK can threaten the entire pacific rim, possibly even the West Coast.

With what, exactly?”

“missiles”

“"Taking note of that relationship between payloads and ranges, the update looks at the implications of lighter payloads for the Taepo Dong-2, which we had assessed in the mid-1990s could deliver larger payloads—several hundred to a thousand kilograms—4,000 to 6,000 kilometers. At the upper end of that range, the Taepo Dong-2 could reach mainland Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands with these heavy payloads. Simple physics tells us the lighter payloads could go further. The update memorandum also looks at the implications of the third stage on the Taepo Dong-2; with the stage demonstrated in August, the Taepo Dong-2, again with significant inaccuracy, could probably reach the rest of the United States, depending on the size of its payload."”

“sorry, the above is from the CIA website. Robert D. Walpole speech.”

“Well, it'll sure creat some jobs.”

“The North Korean Scud D (they call it the No Dong) (LOLOL) has a range of 840 miles. www.startribune.com


Of course they have threatened to deliver bitter defeat and death to us.”

“I was typing while mutt was posting. Do you have a URL for that speech mutt? No need to make a hyperlink.”

“search for "taepo dong" on google.

NK's ballistic missiles have been in the news for years, and there's a lot of info out there.”

“sobering”

“Don’t worry our Dongs are bigger than then their Dongs.”

“Don't these morons ever learn.

Heck, we don't even have to go to war with N. Korea, they'll have starved all of their own people to death within a few years, nobody to fight.

I say we send in Godzilla.”

“You're sure you weren't thinking of the Chinese missile test near Taiwan that caused such a row five or six years ago... ?

Assuming for moment that those performance figures are accurate, what deliverables could Pyong Yang muster? When their nuclear program was supposedly suspended, the extent of their technology was said to (possibly) be a plutonium device delivered by tractor-trailer (recall 'Fat Man' weighed 10,800 lbs). What did you say the throw-weight was for the Taepo Dong-2?


In light of the 'opening up' of the Chinese economy, I wonder how much North Korean craziness they're willing to put up with.”

“Read the speech, Tilt.”

“Jeez, that's a hot potato!”

“I wouldn't support a first strike on NK, especially in light of the fact that we were making diplomatic headway before the Mayberry Machiavellis took over a couple of years ago but it is obvious that Iraq is less of a threat than North Korea - just no oil over there.”

“I think China being so close has something to do with it as well Violin.”

“we were making diplomatic headway before the Mayberry Machiavellis took over

You mean the appeasement of the Clinton admin? That was foreign policy at its worst.

NK's strength is in its missiles - tactical missiles threaten SK and ballistic missiles threaten the U.S. Take out the missiles in an overwhelming surprise attack, and NK is left with the 3rd largest standing army in the world - but they'd be fairly easy prey for overwhelming air power.

I would also recommend pre-emptive strikes on Pakistani missile sites., as well I know the Pentagon has plans for that ready to go. It would do a lot to reduce the chances of nuclear exchange in the subcontinent, and it would reduce the chances of an islamofascist faction from gaining control of them.”

“Your worthless missile defense is no match for our stockpile of whistling bottle rockets.

We bought the rockets with money that you foolish Americans gave to us in exchange for a diamond loan.

hahahahahaha, foolish Americans!”

“I guess making a wasteland of the rest of the world is a lot more macho than appeasement. This report on U.S.-DPRK Missile Negotiations expands on something I heard on NPR not too long ago.”

“NK is a much lesser threat than Iraq. NK is lightweight surrounded by heavyweights (Russia, China).

Iraq is a lightweight surrounded by bantamweights.

Ain't it great to hale from the only super heavyweight?



10 missles in the ground? That's gonna take some work. ALOT of work. I bet the good people of SD, NM, NV, or wherever, are jumping for joy! (and their economies, too).”

“From Walpole's speech...

Theater-range missiles already in hostile hands pose an immediate and increasing threat to US interests, military forces, and allies.

Yep, uh huh...

the March report judged it unlikely, despite the extensive transfer of theater missile technology, that other countries (except Russia and China as just mentioned) will develop, produce, and deploy an ICBM capable of reaching any pant of the United States over the next decade.

It seems to me that we're deploying an immature technology now to counter a threat still estimated to be 7 years away.

Why not concentrate on further research so that the system WORKS? That's my question.

This briefing is kinda creaky, tho'... 4 years can be a very long time.



This also caught my eye...

Finally, our report noted that non-missile delivery of weapons of mass destruction—biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological weapons—poses a serious, immediate threat to US interests at home and abroad.


You can be sure that there are some interesting goings-on at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). There's usually a symposium every few weeks televised on... wait... for... it... C-SPAN! LOL


What happens when I feed "Taepo Dong" to the search feature on the CSIS' website... ?

This is interesting, but I'll have to wade through it later.”

“And here's the link to CSIS' main page that I screwed up in the previous post, LOL

enjoy!”

“It seems to me that we're deploying an immature technology now to counter a threat still estimated to be 7 years away.


Wrong! Think again:

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20021101-11616336.htm

N. Korea missile threat increases
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

November 1, 2002

[snip]

North Korea likely perceives its TD-2 ballistic missile capability primarily as a tool for deterrence and political coercion," the DIA said. "During a conflict, the North also could attempt to strike U.S. and U.S. interests with ballistic missiles, if North Korea's leadership were attacked directly or was facing imminent destruction."
     The [Defense Intelligence Agency] stated that North Korea had one or two nuclear weapons
[snip]

***********

This is the reason the U.S. is hopelessly befuddled when trying to deal with NK. Because of Clinton's appeasements, NK now has ICBM technology and nukes. Because Clinton and now GW focused on the unreliable technology of strategic theater missile defense instead of perfecting existing boost phase defense, we are particularly helpless to do anything about NK.

Just the other week, we catch NK smuggling scuds to the middle east and we give them back. Pathetic”