Posted on 04/23/2010 8:21:21 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON — In coming years, President Obama will decide whether to deploy a new class of weapons capable of reaching any corner of the earth from the United States in under an hour and with such accuracy and force that they would greatly diminish America’s reliance on its nuclear arsenal.
Yet even now, concerns about the technology are so strong that the Obama administration has acceded to a demand by Russia that the United States decommission one nuclear missile for every one of these conventional weapons fielded by the Pentagon. That provision, the White House said, is buried deep inside the New Start treaty that Mr. Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev signed in Prague two weeks ago.
Called Prompt Global Strike, the new weapon is designed to carry out tasks like picking off Osama bin Laden in a cave, if the right one could be found; taking out a North Korean missile while it is being rolled to the launch pad; or destroying an Iranian nuclear site — all without crossing the nuclear threshold. In theory, the weapon will hurl a conventional warhead of enormous weight at high speed and with pinpoint accuracy, generating the localized destructive power of a nuclear warhead.
The idea is not new: President George W. Bush and his staff promoted the technology, imagining that this new generation of conventional weapons would replace nuclear warheads on submarines.
In face-to-face meetings with President Bush, Russian leaders complained that the technology could increase the risk of a nuclear war, because Russia would not know if the missiles carried nuclear warheads or conventional ones. Mr. Bush and his aides concluded that the Russians were right.
Partly as a result, the idea “really hadn’t gone anywhere in the Bush administration,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who has served both...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
bump
What a laugh, to think our gonad deficient president would approve this. Especially if it might affect his muslim brothers.
If the Senate ratifies Obama’s surrender treaty, we are cooked. Now yet another screwball concession to Putin is revealed.
Interesting graphic. Take out your atlas and look at the landmasses shown. The landmass on the left is the eastern part of Russia. The Gulf of Anadyr is prominent and you can see the base of the Kamchatka peninsula. The land mass to the right is Alaska. So the launch point is in Russia and the point of impact is in Alaska. An NYT wet dream. Just guessing that the NYT wanted to make Wasilla the target.
Lamh Foistenach Abu!
It would be racism to try and kill people with this. We need hugs and love. Just like Bammy says./s
Obama's response: "Only one?? I was thinking more like five nukes for every one of these new gadgets. We don't like being a military power, you know."
Would there still be an EMP? Radioactivity? Mushroom cloud?
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Does anyone have any idea about what happened to Tolik?
Some noteworthy articles about politics, foreign or military affairs, IMHO, FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
Thats what I remember too. It was called a kinetic force weapon.
Barry's new excuse: "Putin wouldn't let me!"
Two different systems.
Thanks neverdem.
/sarc>
NO cheers, unfortunately.
Thanks for the ping!
Yes. Couple of ways. First, the Russians have decent satellites. They'd get a launch warning, see it was only one ICBM. Then after a couple of minutes they'd get a refined launch and impact point prediction. They'd have to ask themselves, would we really be sending a nuke to {where-ever} ???
Or plan B. They know where our land-based missile fields are. Convert those to the conventional ICBMs. The subs and aircraft are much more "survivable" for our nuclear forces. Then simply tell the Russians, the North Dakota fields are conventional, (maybe even let them inspect them to assure themselves), you see something launching out of there, don't sweat it.
Would there still be an EMP? Radioactivity? Mushroom cloud?
EMP, no. Radioactivity, no. These would be conventional, chemical explosives. Mushroom cloud? Maybe a small one - that feature is merely a by product of a large explosion.
The term we used in SAC (back when it still existed)was "Launch on Warning". Hence the caution.....
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