Officials Worried Shuttle Could Be Target

I think the NASA geeks' hearts are in the right place. I bet Osama would like to blow it up just for the symbolic impact. But I doubt the Arabs know enough about space flight to have the first clue how to bring it down. Their only option would be firing a heat seeking missile at it. I admit that's pretty plausible- but why sacrifice some of your valuable suicide guys for something that would surely just make us really mad?

You hit another city and you might figure it could make large swaths of the American public call for a change of foreign policy. But simply destroying a thing we're immensely proud of but with low loss of life? It'd be just silly. The space program is something the liberals like as well. You'd probably have Noam Chomsky on TV saying "Nuke the bastards!" if they did that.

You forget (you probably don't know many things) that the Israelis have improved on every piece of technology that the U.S. has allowed them to look over. The American F-16's are a big example of that, the Israeli versions are far more formidable. And the Israelis freely share the improvements with Washington.

That's a big reason why the U.S. supports our Israeli friends, as we receive huge dividends in return. Can you thing of one positive dividend we received for the billions given to Egypt and the palis? Or from any other arab nation we donate money to? None, nada, zip!

After the shuttle mission with the Israeli astronaut, look for big shuttle improvements in the near future!

After the shuttle mission with the Israeli astronaut, look for big shuttle improvements in the near future!

I'd prefer seeing the shuttle shut-down and the money spent on mass-transportation systems that average Americans can ride. Modern, efficient mass-transportation would also make us less dependent on Arab Oil.

If the Israelis want to help, they can start by repaying the some $80+ billion we gave them so we can build mass-transportation.

"I'd prefer seeing the shuttle shut-down and the money spent on mass-transportation systems that average Americans can ride. Modern, efficient mass-transportation would also make us less dependent on Arab Oil."

You're joking! The demos have been taxing us to the hilt for a "modern efficient" mass-trans system called BART here in the San Francisco region. They spent trillions on it and it's a joke. It is heavily subsidized, has frequent breakdowns, doesn't really go where people want it to go (not many miles of track and few stations). It was promised as a computerized system with trains arriving in under 3 minutes apart, yet sometimes they take 30 minutes or more, when they do run. Now they want to extend the system and tax us more, yet they announce they're cutting hours of service and halving the trains due to budget shortfalls (remember it's 2/3rds subsidized beyond the tolls).

On the other hand, the space shuttle is the best thing we've got going, and it's produced many tangible benefits - a lot of the technology we take for granted in everyday products have come from this and other space programs.

"If the Israelis want to help, they can start by repaying the some $80+ billion we gave them so we can build mass-transportation."

As I said, we've given billions to arab countries yet get nothing but grief in return from them. We subsidize Egypt to the tune of 2/3rds what Israel gets. What has Egypt done for us? Some friggin' friend they turned out to be, stabbing us in the back every chance they get. Israel is the only true friend we have in the region, and they back it up with assistance to us, not to mention giving us the fruits of their technological discoveries - a lot of which is hidden for state security reasons. Ever check on where a lot of Internet technology comes from? Right, Israel. Military technology? Right, Israel. How many books of knowledge are published in Israel, a gift to the world? Thousands. How many are published in Arab countries? Dozens?

Israel is like Yoda - maybe small but don't judge them by size alone.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.