What a change from a few years ago....Missile defense is succeeding.
Tom Daschle sank, then disappeared. Daschle embarassed himself when he attempted to ridicule supporters of the missile defense program. He meant to imply that they were mindless, but made himself look like an idiot.
June 8, 2001:
Tom Daschle, newly reseated Senate Majority Leader,* says
of the Missile Defense program "This isn't rocket science here" Here is an exact transcript of Daschle's words. Whether or not we want to violate the ABM treaty
especially with a concept [NMD program] that we may not know
...or...
that we do know now does not work
is something that also mystifies me.
I mean
Every aspect of the debate and the consideration
that is given this whole program
is... is troubling to me.
I... I mean... I...there's a disconnect there.
I mean...It just seems common sense....
I mean...there's no brain..
This isn't rocket science here... Yes it IS rocket science....
that's the problem..
Hadn't thought about that..
As I just think out loud ....
as I meander through here.
(laugh laugh laugh laugh laugh)
*Jeffords had recently defected
Thanks for the link!
This portion is significant, because it is so confounding that the Administration subsequently went and deliberately killed Navy Area Wide in December, 2001...precisely the opposite direction of what Murdock clearly also advocated as politically essential:
The Bush administration could frustrate BMD opponents even further by testing boost-phase anti-missile technology. Designed to demolish hostile rockets as they slowly rise from their launch pads trailed by jets of hot gases, a low-tech, sea-based Aegis missile could splinter such a weapon relatively easily. Such tests would demonstrate that America could stop incoming rockets in both their boost- and space-flight phases. Later on, learning to destroy warheads as they descend in their terminal trajectories would round out a "layered defense."
What was amusing was the reminders in this article, wherein it describes Putin and the Russians "agreed" to killing the ABM treaty...when in fact it hadn't been in force since the demise of the Soviet Union. A treaty which the Soviets had flagrantly violated anyways with their SA-300 missiles, deploying over 10,000 of them along the periphery for a national missile defense, and the Krasnoyarsk Radar to help provide target tracking and control. And so far, they have also not been following through on the warhead reductions of the stupid Treaty of Moscow.
E.g., the Russian Generals rather brazenly announced three years ago that they are indeed keeping intact their stash of SS-18s until 2017 with over 2,300 warheads thereto just by itself. They also have a hot assembly line going turning out the newly perfected Topol-M which they persistently brag on being the best, most survivable mobile missile ever with MaRV, Stealth and FOBS capability. Immune to our kinetic interceptor technology. Which they got Bush to agree to limit.
Mean while Bush is pushing pell-mell to, in effect, unilaterally disarm the United States ahead of schedule pursuant the Treaty of Moscow. The MX is gone. Half to two-thirds of the Minuteman are gone or going. The Tridents are being cut by a third, or more if he gets his way. The B-1B is cut in half. The B-52 is almost gone. The US is not manufacturing tritium for the warheads which we have, and they are becoming inoperable.
This dangerous deterioration in our strategic deterrent posture (particularly as Putin and company shows his true Communist-Dicatatorship stripes) truly needs to be confronted and debated in the Congress. W and Condileeza Rice appears to not be paying attention. But the Left obviously won't raise the issue, because they want us to unilaterally disarm...and the Republicans won't break party unity, such as it is, over strategic nuclear issues...for fear of losing the one area where the public still has confidence in them...nuclear national security. Informing the public that things are deteriorating could have serious and embarassing political repercussions. So they are stalling hoping that we just get lucky.
But the solid conservatives are going to have to break ranks.
It appears that the Administration...and the U.S....are being played for saps by Pooty-Poot...and the people of the U.S. are being placed gravely at risk as a result...all for a delusory promise that someone's dangerous wishful thinking is not turning into reality.