Pentagon Plan: Hit Anywhere In An Hour .... (X-51 hypersonic cruise missile,roughly 3600 mph)

Military.com ^ | December 27, 2006 | Noah Shachtman

[IrishMike]

I've had sources ask to meet me in some pretty odd places. But there was one meeting last year that had to be just about the strangest request yet. It wasn't just that this very-recently retired Defense Department strategist wanted to meet at the Pentagon City Mall -- that's a pretty common place to grab an off-the-record cup o' joe. It was where in the mall he had in mind: at the Nordstrom's coffee shop, tucked all the way in the far reaches of the store, just past the little kid's clothes section.

So I walk past the rows of toddlers' jumpers, past the blue-haired ladies ordering around their grandkids. I sit down with my source. And he begins to tell me about a Pentagon plan that's even odder that the place where we're meeting.

Here's the goal, as another source -- U.S. Strategic Command's deputy commander, Lt. Gen. C. Robert Kehler -- later told me on-the-record: "strike virtually anywhere on the face of the Earth within 60 minutes." ............................................. Now, of course, the American military has weapons that can destroy just about anything on the planet in a matter of minutes: nuclear missiles. Which might have been the right answer for containing our Soviet adversaries. But as the Cold War receded into memory, U.S. strategists began to worry that our nuclear threat was no longer credible. That we were too muscle-bound for our own good. Were we really prepared to wipe out Tehran in retribution for a single terrorist attack? Kill millions of Chinese for invading Taiwan? Of course not. The weaker our enemies grew, the less ominous our arsenal became. Military theorists called it "self-deterrence." "In today's environment, we've got zeros and ones. You can decide to engage with nuclear weapons, or not," Navy Capt. Terry Benedict

[SengirV]

Kinda reminds me a little of the NAZI hypersonic one(a manned bomber actually)
The Sänger-Bredt RaBo of 1945 (left) compared with its postwar Soviet derivative. Both designs used a long rocket sled to propel the vehicle to its takeoff speed of several hundred mph. After launch, an onboard engine of some 200,000 lbs thrust would propel the craft into a ballistic trajectory that peaked at altitudes of several hundred miles. The German version was intended to be able to reach friendly territory after making its strike -- or possibly ditch near a U-boat.

http://www.project1947.com/gfb/antiplofer.htm

[Williams]

mirrors, for one.

[Williams]

"Kill millions of Chinese for invading Taiwan? Of course not."

Why not? I assume the only reason would be fear of nuclear retaliation, not the "unfairness" of stopping a massive invasion with superior weapons. We have plenty of tactical nukes, we can target military, not cities.

[buck61]

We have the bullets with the speed, we have the bombs with the power.
What we don't have is a command structure to use them. So what good is all this power?/ Sad-ar City comes to mind.
How many American soldiers must we sacrifice because we won't use the tools we have at our command?

[SomeoneNeedsToSayIt]

Or......

You have the laser in space and then you've got the high ground so it's always line of sight.

[CyberAnt]

Not only that .. but his premise is all wrong. Our enemies were not "growing weaker" .. but just the opposite. The fact that we have not recognized that is not good news for America.

EVERYBODY NEEDS TO READ: "AMERICA ALONE" by Mark Steyn. Stunning information. America better wake up.

[adorno]

Pretty looking bird.

Not really that pretty, but if it'll get the job done, then it's pretty enough.

[upcountryhorseman]

Have you heard about "the rods from God"? Rods triggered
by satellite that travel at supersonic speeds (the ultimate
bunker buster).

[ItsForTheChildren]

Excise me?

You callin' for a zot on your own position? :)

[IrishMike]

"the rods from God"
.
.
.
Honestly the first I've heard,
But I do like the name.

[rbg81]

At least I didn't say: supersize me!

[RobRoy]

>>New hi-tech weapons? Works for me. Fine. But I hope they will make use of them, otherwise its useless.<<

I think they will. I remember Clinton firing off a couple of missles.