A Break in the Clouds
Today’s newspapers bring unconfirmed reports that the Obama Administration may announce alternatives to the “star wars” project that the Bush Administration tried to roll out in Poland and the Czech Republic. If true, this will represent a break in the clouds, a “no-risk” option that should help international relations, save money, and in no way aggravate the security of the US. Other than a dubious value for bluffing, the long standing anti-missile missile program (aka Star Wars) had a 50/50 record of success and then only when everyone knew when and where the test firing would be. Some security.
This program, like the extra F-22s, were costly extras that we no longer can afford, and weapons systems of questionable value. Star Wars was still born simply from a technology perspective and after much money and time (from Reagan era), the system about to be deployed was good for only one enemy war head at a time.
The idea of intercepting an incoming missile is hard to argue with in principle. If only it were that easy to do. As a deterrent, however, it would not have dissuaded terrorist elements from trying to launch, and it chances of working were close to nil. A far better deterrent is the retaliation that could be heaped upon an Iran should they try to launch a missile attack at anyone.
The even brighter part of this cloud is that it places even more importance in diplomatic efforts. Despite all the differences that exist between the US and countries like Russia or China, it can not be lost on them that Islamic fundamentalists, especially groups like the Taliban and al Qaeda, are bad news for them too. Unlike the “stick in the eye” brand of diplomacy practiced by the Bush Administration, President Obama is placing more and more bets on rationality.
This entry was posted on August 29, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Barack Obama, Democratic Party, George Bush, Politics, Republican Party. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: al qaeda, anti-missile missile, czech, Iran, islam, poland, star wars, Taliban
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