Posted on 09/28/2007 2:55:07 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
VANDENBERG AFB, Calif., Sept 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Riki Ellison, President of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), http://www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org/, was at Vandenberg AFB to view the ground-based interceptor launch from the Ronald Reagan Missile Defense site on Vandenberg AFB, CA and got to witness the successful intercept by one of our nation's ground-based interceptor missile (GBI) deployed there against a threat-representative long range target missile launched from Kodiak, Alaska. Ellison's overall appraisal of the test was characterized as "an overwhelming success with the 7th intercept of this system gives our nation and our public great confidence that our military has the capability to protect our population, territory and homeland from long range missiles." Ellison said "The remarkable technical feat demonstrated today for the 7th time clearly gives our country security and reassurance that the current 23 Ground Based Interceptors deployed in California and Alaska can and will protect our public from long-range ballistic missiles.
(Excerpt) Read more at earthtimes.org ...
Funny thing is,
If it was ineffective,
Why do our enemies and less then allies get so upset about it! LOL
____________________
LOL! You sure caught me! Our enemies do get upset! Iran...well no, they don’t care about it. China...Yes, back in 2001 for a moment but then they like the Russians had a chat with their military experts. And the Russians, heck there was that Russian general who pointed out in public that one little conventional warhead could knock out the radar but then, after the London affair and other slights to Putin’s political manhood Russia resurrected it’s propaganda about the missile base and other things to recreate a Western threat...
But although I believe our enemies understand us and beltway boondoggles, I bet they can’t figure out why we would put the missile base and radar installation in two seperate countries...
If a warhead is headed for your city.
Can I assume you would rather NOT have this tool?
Are you actually arguing that?
Don’t forget the sea based interceptors on the Aegis cruisers.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/leap.htm
As long as induces enough uncertainty in the minds of our opponents it works well enough...
“If a warhead is headed for your city.
Can I assume you would rather NOT have this tool?
Are you actually arguing that?”
Yep. Even if I thought it might work...but I do not.
It is irrational for Iran to nuke London with a missile. If they wanted to disrupt our country they would sneak it in anonymously on a cargo ship. Therefore, we should divert all the Star Wars money, and even more, to financing inch by inch incoming ship searches 10 mi. off our coast.
That is a more rational use of our money.
Star Wars is a boondoggle. It was in the 1980’s, it is again now.
Come get some...
I will try to make their argument. "It won't work but the US, thinking it does, will act more readily in confrontations. Therefore we can't push the US as far as we could have if the US didn't have the ineffective system."
“Yep. Even if I thought it might work...”
Good luck with that.
I want this abliity provided to our military.
There are a myriad of situations that could produce an incoming warhead. Regardless of other methods, smuggling or what have you.
You dont lock your doors and leave your windows open as you propose.
Ask Gorbachev, I'm sure he would agree with you.
So was Reagan. I used to cringe when he would say that. At least he never acted on his crazy statements.
The American Aerospace Technology Denial machine is in full force!
Tell it to the Syrians and their super-duper Russkie Aircraft detection systems. Yeah. All the chicoms and russians have to do is whittle a decoy and whoopie, billions of boondoggle dollars wasted! Ha.
Challenge the disbelievers to a duel. If you don't believe in Missile Defense, then if an ICBM ever launches on your city, meet me downtown at intended ground zero before it hits.
If the missile defense intercepter works, I get to shoot you in the head. If it doesn't, then you get to shoot me.
Deal?!
“Tell it to the Syrians and their super-duper Russkie Aircraft detection systems. Yeah.”
Well, the Israelis were afraid of those systems pointed at Israel and made an elaborate left hook over Turkey to come in relatively safely from the north. Retreated that way too.
Better yet, have a few hundred interceptors (at minimum) available, so you don't have to depend on 100% performance
It’s a good launch from Kodiak. The previous one had a bad motor. There are 20 interceptors installed in Fort Greely and a couple more in California. This is great since it makes Alaska the first target and the warheads will fly directly over Fairbanks. Haven’t had a good fireworks show lately.
If the missile defense intercepter works, I get to shoot you in the head. If it doesn’t, then you get to shoot me.
***I get to hold the gun and the bag of money.
The 1980s star wars defense wasn't a boon doggle. It was a carefully thought out plan by Ronald Regan to drive the Russians to bankruptcy and it worked.
BTW, cruise missles are easily defeated as they fly much slower than balistic missles and can usually be taken care of with guns, not missle interceptors.
“The 1980s star wars defense wasn’t a boon doggle. It was a carefully thought out plan by Ronald Regan to drive the Russians to bankruptcy and it worked.”
Myth. Yes, the defense build up of the 1980’s did help, but it had about zilch to do with the relatively inexpensive enterprise of thinking how to avoid interceptor missiles. The Soviets went “bankrupt” trying to match our navy, new ground weapons and upgrades, and manpowerincreases. Afghan war did them in too...especially for reason of Saudi flooding the oil markets.
Rules of Engagement trump national security these days...
“Fixed fortifications are monuments to man’s stupidity.”
GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR. QUOTATIONS
Some short range interceptors are based on navy vessels.
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