That new LASER system, if it indeed works,

Post #62,189 by admin 11/11/02 10:46:54 AM Reply	That new LASER system, if it indeed works, Will nail everything from ballistic missiles on down. Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #62,190 by inthane-chan 11/11/02 10:59:21 AM Reply	Still won't stop a freight container, tho... That's the big problem as I see it - defense, ultimately, is a failed excercise, especially as our ability to project energy in an offensive manner continues to grow exponentially faster than our ability to shield against that energy. There's always a way to deliver a nuke, and once you've got it delivered, well... End of world rescheduled for day after tomorrow. Something should probably be done. Please advise.
Post #62,192 by admin 11/11/02 11:06:16 AM Reply	Yep. Try telling Israel they don't need air defenses though... :-) Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #62,202 by Simon_Jester 11/11/02 12:14:55 PM 11/11/02 12:18:23 PM Reply	And you'll distinguish between the nuke packing Cessna and the General Aviation "out for fun" family Cessna how again? You could wait until the nuke goes off...er...but that might be too late. You could outlaw GA though...that would be interesting. (And yes, there is the freighter above.) Don't get me wrong. I like SDI research. We should continue it. It should be installed on naval warships and other military places. I'm just worried that people are going to spend billions a defense system that can and will be circumvented. Edited by Simon_Jester Nov. 11, 2002, 12:18:23 PM EST Expand All History
Post #62,204 by admin 11/11/02 12:27:58 PM Reply	Everything can be circumvented. Armor fell to the longbow, castles to the cannon, and so on. There are plenty of things the laser system shown could protect against, however. Use the right tool for the job. Just because there are other jobs as well doesn't invalidate the need for the laser's job. Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #62,229 by Brandioch 11/11/02 1:54:09 PM Reply	No defense is perfect. You also left out vehicular delivery. Drive it up from Mexico. Don't get me wrong. I like SDI research. We should continue it. It should be installed on naval warships and other military places. Good usage. I'm just worried that people are going to spend billions a defense system that can and will be circumvented. Yes, we will. And we will be surprised when our defenses fail to protect our cities. Again, people should read about attack trees from Bruce Schneier. Our COUNTRY (the land, the cities, the roads, etc) will NOT be attacked via ICBM's. The ICBM scenario is from the Cold War with Russia. We will be spending TRILLIONS of dollars to defend against an attack that DOES NOT EXIST ANYMORE. It would be a better DEFENSE to take some of that money and help Russia. But then, I've always viewed the situation slightly differently than most people. Remember the Marshall Plan.

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