Was talking to a friend who follows missile defense closely about it just now. He recalls that THAAD suffered something like seven straight failures back in the 1990s. Clinton defense official John Hamre was going around Capitol Hill telling people the program was going to be cancelled. A bunch of Republican senators pushed back and the program stayed alive, achieving its first intercept in June 1999. It’s been onwards and upwards from there as the interceptor has gotten smaller, more reproducible, and more technologically sophisticated. Impressively, THAAD can operate both inside and outside the atmosphere.
Robert, stay on topic.
Robert,
Do you wear a seatbelt? If an 18 wheeler crashed into you while driving you would still die. So why wear a seatbelt since it isnt a defence against all possibilities?
Just trying to follow the logic.
Gee, I go for supper and Robert letters is still asking me questions. I guess I’m flattered.. or not. Seasoned citzens are around 54 as I am too.I also spent much of my military career keeping planes aloft to make the Ruskies honest.
A few months back, a thread on SDA developed into a discussion on the median age blogging and although no stats were compiled there seemed to be a hell of a lot of the 35+ crowd and from many diverse backgrounds.
My comment on your Bush rand was just wondering how that sentence was pulled out of left field and attached to your comment.
And finally, maybe the missle defence cannot take into account everything but do you honestly believe that because you thought of a few hair-brained scenarios that nobody else has? Trust me there are whole groups of experts doing “what if”s. Yeah, others will eventually gain the knowledge and technology but then again do you think the good guys just sit back and rest on their laurels? It’s called R&D.
For a supposedly educated person, you sir are quite a pessimist.
Sorry Kate for the one on one. I should know better.
Missile defence, see:
BMD: Someone please tell the prime minister
http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/006993.html
Mark
Ottawa
Mark Collins:
Already told the Prime Minister.
Cheers
I’m chuckling recalling a long long long time ago seeing the CBC documentary about the failure of the US Patriot missile in Gulf War 1 (I believe). I encountered it at least 10 times and I don’t watch TV much. Man did they ever milk that example of Yankee-Don’t-Know-How!
hi mark: leather jacket & a shave…..
well, I had the zipper replaced on my jacket last spring, its fine now, but I could use a shave.
as far as the pessimism is concerned, uuummmm. how can I put this. lemme see.
I just watched Patton for the umpteenth time being my fav WW II epic and me a big fan of THAT George. how did he do it? by getting into the opponent’s head. “rommel you magnificent bastard I READ YOUR BOOK” as his troops are pasting the oncoming kraut infantry.
you get inside their head. you plan for worse case scenarios. you bitch whine complain and play devil’s advocate non stop. NOW, did we leave anything out?
stephen: the logic is this most most complex missile defense is being sold as fool proof. all the nice little graphics show a big fat ZERO incoming missiles getting past.
’tis a crock of the nth magnitude.
I wear a seat belt because there are oh, say 500 to 1,000 other survivable ways of getting smashed into on the road. and if seat belts didnt exist I would personally be sourcing sumptin to substitute. Im buying a hyundai sonota next vehicle since it has SIX air bags and highest safety rating. but not fool proof. survivability has a lot to do with one’s driving technique. dubya’s frat boys seem intent on giving everyone else on the road the finger and pissing them off. canuckistan didnt escape, witness the softwood difficulties resolved only when they reaaaaaally needed our support.
if the pros and experts and thaad hucksters would be up front and freely and openly and more than once ADMIT the potential shortcomings, my criticism would immediately and completely cease.
not much chance of THAT kind of honesty from the bushists. or ANY white house on either side of the spectrum for the next 100 years.
texas c: attack via submarine aint hair brained. your bias for aircraft is showing.
and if the experts have covered this ground, why dont they provide some hints how its been solved to garner support and neutralize opposition? it aint like theyre giving away the farm.
wuz that you I saw leaving all them vapour trails in the sky over RobertJville back in the 60s? I saw a record 9 in the sky at the same time once. B52s have a distinctly characteristic wing angle and contrail type. in ideal conditions one could make out the eight trails emerging from the 4 sets of twin mounted engines for a very short distance behind the wing.
if I had to do it over again I would have signed up with the air force and be a flyboy. I still dont wear glasses and have no fear of heights.
yo, stingray: body armour dont cost a trillion bucks apiece.
didja see the news item early in gulf war part 2 about soldiers in iraq severely miffed at the floozy armour on the personnel carriers? they solved it by scrounging steel plates and adding them to the vehicles. maybe some of the copious amounts of thaad money should go to the welfare of GIs FIRST and then they can have whats left. any thaad scientists or thaad company shareholders killed by thaad research so far?
priorities sirrah, PRIORITIES.
also:
moi? liberal? moi? JAMAIS ENCORE !!!
bush hater? mmmmm. nah, it goes way way beyond that. I detest his duplicity and ‘christian values’ crapola whilst defending, nay, FACILITATING the slaughter of TENS OF THOUSANDS OF U-N-I-N-V-O-L-V-E-D Iraqi civilians. what kind of ‘terrorism’ is THAT tally against innocent bystanders ??? it takes bushist sandbox bully logic to pass THAT off as a ‘war on terrorism’.
the truth will out, the truth will out.
>the truth will out, the truth will out.
You’re an idiot and can’t handle the truth. What truth ? The only ‘truth’ you see is the delusional kind.
What kind of knob lists ‘BSc’ after his name on a message board ? A total loser thats who.
A BSc is a wipe your ass degree, I have an MSc myslef but would never think of being so pretentious as to post such, supposedly thinking that anyone will be impressed.
Why don’t you try making some decent arguments instead of spewing stupid stuff like demanding 100% success rate of weapons designed to protect us. This is type of juvenile argument made by Liberal fools, nothing is ever good enough if its not perfect. Grow up, knob.
Someone asked: Robert, Do you wear a seatbelt?
Answer: Crashtest Dummies have no use for seatbelts; they are designed for impact.
A BSc? you have to list a wiper after your list a BA
BareA$$ degree.
Why in the hell does everyone try and discuss anything with the lib/left idiots on these threads? All you do is bring yourself down to their level. You have to wade through post after post of senseless argument to pick out anything of value. See how long they would last if the only acknowledgment you gave them was one word, say, void. If they read 10 posts that said nothing but VOID, or one word of your choosing, how lone do you think they would keep up their illogical and mindless baiting? You can’t pound nails into cement. They all respond the same way so obliviously none of them are thinking, give it up.
ahhh katie!!! theyre getting personal again !!!
clearly Ive struck numerous nerve endings of the sycophantist bush-league bushists.
no comeback regarding the 10s of thousands of currently and permanently DEAD INNOCENT Iraqis civilians including a great number with single digit age ??? hmmm ??? that yer criteria separating liberal from republican ???
mr galt: when you steal lines from hollywood movies its proper etiquette to give credit. an msc ?? what major ??? reactionism spew ???
my BA is in sarcasm.
you people are so blinded by ego and ideology you still dont get it.
I target ANY spot on the political spectrum that I disagree with. left right middle top bottom demagogue, NO ONE is safe if they fuk up and cost innocent lives.
have you ever heard of a liberal give full credit to president Reagan for smashing commiunism ??? want to borrow my copy of ‘in the face of evil’?? (check imbd.com)
simpletons. one dimensional simpletons. why do I even bother.
Ok kiddies, the sandbox is getting dirty again with all your soiled pants remarks.
Here’s a novel idea, how about just challenging WHAT the person posted rather than attack with personal insults?
So what if Joe Smuck claims to be a nuclear physisisisisist. Personal attacks don’t add to the credibility of this blog.
– Internet Police.
p.s. if anyone ever accuses me of being leftist a.k.a. godless leftist, pls post an email address and I will convincingly show using chemical, geological, and astrophysical evidence gleaned right out of hte evolutionists textbook how God can create the solar system in a matter of minutes let alone a single Genesis day.
hint: nuclear fusion byproducts.
Rob…word to the wise – by ‘defending’ yourself, you make yourself look more guilty, let it slide.
Let those little dogs bark, they are just as guilty.
But I’d like to see what you got to offer about creation.
You can get my email by the link
tomax7:
done !!
also, I got enough yapping little dogs under my feet already here, I provide foster care for the local animal welfare people (NOT the highly politicized politically correct humane society).
LOL !!!
ciao all till tuesday, I got some wiring to do in my place prior to renting out some rooms this weekend and then out of town monday to do some renos for a dear friend.
horror of horrors, I’se a LANDLORD. and thus exempt, banned, and ostracized from the ‘left’. what more proof do you need?
Looks somewhat like THE COMPANION or the vamipre cloud from classic STAR TREK