The Obama administration is poised to take up one of the more dangerous and hare-brained schemes of the Rumsfeld-era Pentagon. The New York Times is reporting that the Defense Department is once again looking to equip intercontinental ballistic missiles with conventional warheads. The missiles could then, in theory, destroy fleeing targets a half a world away  a no-notice Âbolt from the blue, striking in a matter of hours. ThereÂs just one teeny-tiny problem: the launches could very well start World War III.
Over and over again, the Bush administration tried to push the idea of these conventional ICBMs. Over and over again, Congress refused to provide the funds for it. The reason was pretty simple: those anti-terror missiles look and fly exactly like the nuclear missiles weÂd launch at Russia or China, in the event of Armageddon. ÂFor many minutes during their flight patterns, these missiles might appear to be headed towards targets in these nations, a congressional study notes. That could have world-changing consequences. ÂThe launch of such a missile, then-Russian president Vladimir Putin said in a state of the nation address after the announcement of the Bush-era plan, Âcould provoke a full-scale counterattack using strategic nuclear forces.Â
The Pentagon mumbled all kinds of assurances that Beijing or Moscow would never, ever, never misinterpret one kind of ICBM for the other. But the core of their argument essentially came down to this: Trust us, Vlad Putin! That ballistic missile we just launched in your direction isnÂt nuclear. We swear!
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(via Ackerman at WashingtonIndependent)
Cheers,
Scott.