The Democrats’ Epic Fail on Missile Defense
As reported yesterday, Democrats in Congress, following the dictates of the Obama White House, are blocking efforts by House Republicans to restore $1.2B in cuts for missile defense programs. Republican Congressmen Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Michael Turner (R-OH) were in the forefront of the losing battle and talked to Pajamas Media about what Franks dubs the “profound lack of insight” in cutting programs at the very time that rogue states like North Korea and Iran are ramping up efforts to obtain and deploy nuclear weapons.
Franks says this is nothing new. “When Ronald Reagan first came up with the idea of a system to defend the country from nuclear attack rather than enact revenge, the liberal side did everything they could to make fun of him and criticize him, ” he recalls. “Ever since, liberals have been committed to criticize or suppress missile defense — not on the basis of its efficacy but on political grounds. That’s a tragedy.”
Franks notes that during the campaign, Obama promised that he would reduce missile defense. The congressman observes that unfortunately “that is one of the few promises they have kept.” Franks, borrowing the 1960s phrase, observes that the “whole world is watching” how America responds to rogue state threats. He declares that it concerns him greatly that we are not taking the opportunity to pursue viable missile defense strategies which would “devalue” nuclear weapons and thereby assist in non-proliferation efforts.
In the committee on Tuesday, Franks says that there was fulsome debate, but that Democrats are “forcing false choices” in defense spending to meet the White House’s budgetary directives. With obvious frustration he declares, “We can find $787B to spend on unbelievable projects — $10B on environmental cleanup — but we couldn’t find $1.2B for missile defense.”
It was ironic, he says, that on the very day the president was meeting with the president of South Korea to declare that North Korea poses a “grave risk,” the committee was meeting to cut missile defense. In fact, he read to his colleagues the wire report of the president’s remarks, but the amendments to restore funding “lost on party line votes no matter what the logic and reason.” He dubbed this “one of the greatest disappointments in my congressional life.”
In particular, he points to airborne laser technology which will be reduced to no more than a research project if the Democratic cuts are not reversed. Franks contends, “This is a giant, giant paradigm shift that will someday be to missile defense what the silicon chip was to computers.”
Now the NORKS are preparing to launch a huge Dong ICBM that could possible reach Obamies state of Hawaii.
That would look awful for the democrats and their reelection bids.
Internet and Newspaper articles-
HUGE DONG LANDS IN OBAMIES BACK YARD.
I am guessing pres. hopenchange will/might shoot it down.
The religious dogma of liberal doctrine, which rules every decision they make, is the antithesis of logical thought processes/decision making skills.
This is how it has come to pass, that when the US faces unprecedented threats from WMD’s, Democratic leadership guts essential programs to thwart such threats. It is counter intuitive, and this is precisely the point.
US leadership is now married to a religion which poses a grave danger to public safety. In an Orwellian fashion it is their myopia which has become as dangerous to the public as the Islamic jihadists the US is fighting.
Instead of fighting tooth and nail to protect US interests, the leadership is opening up the gates to the barbarians seeking to dominate them.
Now, if THAT is not a reason to oust them…..
I personally put the chances of North Korea launching a missile at the US or anyone else at zero. What they want is to blackmail the west into giving them money, something they have successfully done for decades. North Korea’s biggest export is tension. Kim just wants our money, not our deaths. Even Obama would have to nuke North Korea if they were to launch a missile. There would be irrefutable evidence of where it came from.
The real problem that we as a country keep sweeping under the rug is a nuclear weapon smuggled into the USA through our many porous borders. A smuggled bomb would be much more devastating than a missile in that we would not know who the perpetrators were. Retaliation would be impossible and our true enemies, the ones that want us dead, would get away Scott free. They know this. Consider: There is still a sizable population in the world that thinks 911 was a plot by George Bush. Do you think it would be much different if Obama is at the helm when a nuke is set off in the US?
While I do agree the democrats are terrible at defense, canceling missile shields is the tip of the ice berg of their sins.
“” … (illiberals are) committed to criticize or suppress missile defense — not on the basis of its efficacy but on political grounds. That’s a tragedy. “”
B. S..
That’s not “a tragedy,” at all.
The illiberals are all on the side of evil, which puts them fairly and squarely in the camps of America’s every enemy, large and small.
And the name for that is treason.
Brian Richard Allen
Los Angeles Califobambicated 90028
And the Far Abroad
This is part and parcel with the Obama strategy for dealing with aggressors: Roll over and expose the belly.
Nice..
Obama has literally ripped our country to shreds, bought out (seized) much of the private sector, has plans for what’s left, has scared Wall Street silly, destroyed the fighting spirit of our military forces and now intends to give our defense monies to the cronies that helped get him elected, with a token pittance of what’s left over going to welfare for minorities.
Is there even one Republican that can now see how important it was for them to get their act together during the Bush years..?
The answer to this article’s main point is simple. If we get hit with any kind of a terrorist attack, nuclear or otherwise the Democrat’s response will be, “We caused it by being too aggressive.” and that will become the gospel of truth preached for the next century.
Damn, this is infuriating!!
Are you still glad that you voted for Obama?
Karma that the west coastal cities and Hawaii are democrat bastions. It is our most vulnerable citizens who are leading the charge to defenselessness. Usually liberals want to light someone elses house on fire to make an abstract point; this time they may have lit their own.
president obama and the democrats are committing nothing less than treason. They despise this country and all we stand for and want to wreck it so they can set up their kingdom with us playing the part as serfs.
Paranoia.
Chicken Little again flapping his tiny red wings.
Our tax money is better invested in “infiltrating” other cultures and learning what they are REALLY up to. Talk is cheap.
NOK’s real hostage in all this is the population of South Korea, which is within easy range of the NORK’s 13,000 artillery pieces, positioned right on the border. It’s much more difficult stopping cannon fire than missiles.
Once we know what they are up to the audacity of hope will protect us.
We’ve changed, can’t they see?
SAF may be right that a smuggled nuke is more dangerous than a missile, but isn’t it far better to shoot down any incoming missile than to able to identify the source and respond. Particularly in the event of an EMP attack, why wait until a devastating attack to respond .The cowardly bedwetting liberals will wring their hands in that event anyways.
Vivo, how does it feel to wake up every morning a deeper idiot than the day before?
It is simple: Mother Russia does not want it so her dutiful servants in the Democrat Party will do their duty.
Just how much perfidy do people have to see to understand that the Democrats are the enemy of this nation?
The aim of the Obama administration is to destroy the military might of this country. The industrial might is down the tubes already. Once this is accomplished, Marxism will rule and we become a third world country.
Decisions, decisions, decisions – should I order a quick study course in Korean or just start building my bomb shelter. Any way you cut it, I will one or the other, or probably both before it over.
I agree with Vivo – talk is cheap. When a missile is inbound, talk will be worthless – an interceptor will be priceless.
SAF (3):
Yes and no. In truth, the CIA, FBI, and border security are doing a pretty good job of stopping stuff from coming in through the borders. You just never hear of it. It’s not impossible for something to enter this way, of course, but they couldn’t be sure that we wouldn’t find it and stop it.
Missiles, on the other hand, can’t be stopped except by an anti-missile system on alert. The problem isn’t so much NK launching directly against us since – as you point out – that would invite instant retiation even from President Obama.
However, a more plausible scenario is that the Koreans would make nuclear ballistic missile technology available to terrorists or some small country that wished to take us down. These would then launch from either a small submarine or ship just far enough off of our coast that the Coast Guard would normally have no reason to intercept them. If an enemy launched from a highjacked or subverted freighter, which they then sank, it could take us quite a while to figure out who was responsible.
Another possibility would be for the enemy to launch from a site in another country that has less stringent port security. Just because a missile comes from Argentina doesn’t necessarily mean that the Argentinians were responsible.
A more likely scenario is that the NK’s or Iranians sell missiles for use against one of our allies (e.g. Isreal or the UK). The whole reason for the Polish intercepter bases was to respond to missiles aimed from Iran into western Europe.
I warned people before the election that for the Communist countries like China and Russia, including their proxy/ally Iran, missile defense is the big prize of this election. The threat of nuclear annihilation is CRUCIAL to their long term, strategic goals and ballistic missile defense completely cuts their nuts off. So, their allies in the Democratic Party have worked hard to get the program de-funded. Joe Biden has always been opposed to ballistic missile defense, going back to the Eighties. He also was opposed to the buildup of Pershing and Cruise missiles in Europe to counter the Soviets, lest any of you forgot about that.
Biden, and others, are tools of dezinformatzya and have been so all of their careers. That is the degree to which the enemy has penetrated our country. Total penetration.
“SAF may be right that a smuggled nuke is more dangerous than a missile,”
That depends on what you mean by ‘more dangerous’. Once the device is initiated, the results are pretty much the same. A smuggler’s nuke is easier to design and build, since the size and weight restrictions are not as great. As far as delivery, an ICBM is a MUCH more reliable delivery system then a tramp steamer and a fishing boat.
There are several reliable methods to locate Fissile materiel from the air and at a reasonable distance. The US Navy has the technical means to track powered ships approaching the coast. Sail boats too, if the NRO helps out.
ALL nuclear weapons emit radiation that isn’t harmful to humans but can be detected.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/dis/appe.pdf
Remember, if the bomb materiel is capable of Fission, it is decaying and emits radiation. That radiation is on ALL wavelengths, although concentrated in just a few. The shielding is just for the wavelength harmful to humans. For example it would make no sense to shield for radio waves, or microwaves. But if you have a radio source that is emitting radio, waves, micro waves AND gamma waves, bingo, you have found a nuclear weapon. Jackpot, sorta.
So smuggling a nuke into the USA is many times more difficult then launching an ICBM.
Of course the smuggling route does have advantages. It takes a long time to back track the device. That advantage translates into another, which is that you can try over and over again, until you get one thru. So the defense has to be perfect EVERY TIME. The smuggler just needs to get lucky once. The down side is when the FBI intercepts one of the devices and figures out who built it. Then a politician has to make a decision.
Like I said, we need to get lucky EVERY time.
Of course, if you make the bomb here in the States, no smuggler’s needed.
ttp://whyfiles.org/167new_nukes/2.html
There isn’t a high school in America that couldn’t build a working bomb, given the fissile materials.
Strange that they were able to fund the fraudulent A.C.O.R.N. with about 8 billion dollars but deemed that 1.8 billion for national defense was wasteful spending and needed to be eliminated.
18: Paul:
I’m sure the CIA and FBI are doing a decent job at the borders but they are still too porous. Drugs are run in huge quantities and much gets through to the states.
The logistics of moving a missile to Argentina and launching it from there would be impractical. Shipping a missile to the Iranians is probably already a done deal. Will Iran actually send one towards Israel? They say they will but I think this is more bluster than reality.
A much more plausible scenario is the ships as you mention or an airline unknowingly carrying a nuke.
We have only so much money to spend. In an ideal world we would have a great laser based anti-missile defense and non-porous borders. That would give us good but not total protection.
Any successful nuclear rocket attack by any third world country will be laid at every congressman who didn’t vote for missle defence.
The chance is zero for a launch? The problem with these third world counties is that they are ruled by dictators. The only check on them is the people that these dictators have put into positions of power and ease.
North Korea’s dictator for life is nearing the end of his life. I don’t doubt he wants to go out with a bang.
Iran’s Imanutjob is bad enough but is still only a puppet for this era’s Komenie. A nuclear attack on Isreal is not in any way shape or form out of the question for these Islamists.
A strike on America would be the pinnacle of their ambitions.
A nuclear bomb smuggled into the US is indeed a grave threat. Now why does that mean we shouldn’t protect ourselves and our allies from a missle attack also? The cost? What is the problem with a couple billion dollars when the administration intends to spend trillions this year???
Good Lord people, get of your idealogical high horse and protect yourself and your children and those of other Americans.
Talk about knee jerk reactions.
Saying/thinking a nuc missile attack is “not likely” etc, is just plain NAIVE and IGNORANT. Did anyone, in their wildest dreams, think anyone would actually hijack jumbo jets and fly them into buildings?!! Arrogant complacency is dangerous. No one in this world can afford to allow ‘rougue’ nations/cultures to develop/have nuclear weapons. The Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis are two perfect examples why we cannot fall into a ‘hopey-dopey-kumbaya-we aren’t aggressive’ rhetoric and mindset. The key word here is DETERRENCE. Countries are less likely to shoot at you when they KNOW you CAN & WILL shoot back!
Oppenheimer bemoaned the pandoras box even before a bomb was ever tested. He KNEW the horror of nuclear weaponry. There can be NO nuclear “war”. Only one nuclear ‘battle’. And folks… if this happens…, pray you are at ground zero
First it was “it can’t be done” now it’s “it won’t be done!” Teh narrative demands it. But actually, are we more or less safe with ABM or DEM?
Personally, I see no downside if San Fransicko gets a huge Dong exploded over them. Poetic Justice and well worth a few fallout rads.
I find it personally offensive when a democrat denies funding to our troops or national defense projects due to “monetary” considerations. We’ve spent $60 billion freaking dollars on the soon to be bankrupt GM, but we can’t find any money for a missile shield. These people are making lame excuses that don’t stand up to the smell test when it comes to these issues. I wish they would just be honest with themselves and all of us and say that they don’t feel like we have the right to defend ourselves and that we should just hold out the white flag to the rest of the world and hope that they don’t hurt us. It’s pathetic.
Wow, there’s a lot of stupid in this thread. Between the people who hope the west coast gets nuked because it votes left and the people who hope they get nuked because it’ll make Obama look stupid… You’re all making me really proud to be an American today.
Right now to the best of our knowledge NK has an unreliable ballistic missile that hasn’t even gotten out of the atmosphere yet and a large, heavy low-yield nuclear design. They are probably 15+ years from miniaturizing the nuke to fit on a warhead and improving the missile to reliably carry a heavy warhead. Our best defense remains as always the sure and certain knowledge that an attack on the US will be responded to in kind.
As long as lil’Kim knows that launching a nuke at us will absolutely result in his death we’re pretty safe. He’s evil but not irrational.
It ain’t lookin’ good:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/18/military-tracking-north-korean-ship-suspected-proliferating-weapons-material/
26. Fantom writes:
“Personally, I see no downside if San Fransicko gets a huge Dong exploded over them.”
Not to mention the sheer ecstacy in the Castro District when they are told that “the Big Dong is coming”.
Paul in MI: “lil’Kim” is not irrational? Oh my.
Paul in MI,
“He’s evil but not irrational..”
OOOOKayyyy….
This is a dude that has starved his people to death…this is a dude whose postage stamps feature a sneering soldier lobbing a missile on a crude rendition of the White House.. this is a dude who is apparently mega-addicted to western porn…who drinks likes a fish..and who is the ONLY chubby person in his whole country…who lobs missiles over neighboring countries…
What, pray tell, in your eyes, makes one step over that figurative line from evil to irrational? BTW, its not irrational to want to keep the money you earn, to work hard for one’s own interest, to cherish the unborn, to believe in a higher power, or to love one’s country, especially one built on the principles of classical liberalism…just so we’re clear.
28. Paul, I know it’s the internets, but maybe try and be accurate with at least one sentence per post.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D98SVB700&show_article=1
“Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would take at least three to five years for North Korea to pose a real threat to the U.S. west coast. ”
That is a small enough number of years to be 3-5 years off. Your lying about the time involved to pad your argument.
28. “Our best defense remains as always the sure and certain knowledge that an attack on the US will be responded to in kind.”
You would relay on the deterrence of Mutual Assured Destruction against suicidal islamists or insane, near death isolated dictators who kidsnap Japanese actors to perform in their home theaters? Relying on MAD to deter our current crop of enemies has already been discarded as a valid strategy. Your being intellectually dishonest.
28. “He’s evil but not irrational.”
That is emotional hope and change thinking for sure. Can’t argue with rainbows and unicorns dancing on pizza colored soft playmats. Either you don’t understand the meaning of the word “irrational” or your too lazy to bother to understand what your talking about.
28. Paul in MI
As I said before… NAIVE AND IGNORANT… ARROGANT COMPLACENCY…
FU
Paul in MI,
“They are probably 15+ years from…”
Ah, you are walking the primrose path of many a naysayer in man’s history…a few examples of those who have uttered these very words:
Johann Shlobotnik, stenographer extraordinaire, in 1425, when asked about his competitor Guttenberg.
Franz “Wick” Wickenstein, purveyor of the smoothest burning candle, in 1864, when discussing his rival, a Mr. T.E.
And who can forget the above words from the mouth of BooBa Bungbunga, in 498,000BC, upon learning of his neighbor Fred Flintcrocker actually dropping the mastodon meat into the fire BEFORE eating it!
Keep up the great work, PAul in MI!
Vivo,
It is quite possible that the ONLY reason for your existence is to serve as a warning to others.
Personally, I see no downside if San Fransicko gets a huge Dong exploded over them. Poetic Justice and well worth a few fallout rads.
Well, since I live less than 150 miles downwind of SF, I have a few problems with that.
If every Kim and Mahmoud on the block is going to have nuclear weapons and we’re not to have a missile defense system, then I guess we’ll need a bigger, scarier more destructive weapon than everybody else. If we can’t play defense, I guess we’ll have to play offense. If push comes to shove, I suppose we can have the neutron bomb dusted off fast enough.
“Right now to the best of our knowledge NK has an unreliable ballistic missile that hasn’t even gotten out of the atmosphere yet and a large, heavy low-yield nuclear design”
Typical, short sighted Liberal think. 10 years ago, NK had none of those things. What will they have in 10 more years? The time to prepare is NOW.
“Our best defense remains as always the sure and certain knowledge that an attack on the US will be responded to in kind.”
That isn’t defense, it’s revenge. It is also highly unlikely that any Liberal president would actually use a nuke. Carter wouldn’t, or at least I think he said so.
It is highly immoral for a nation with the technological means to prevent ICBM attacks to use the threat of mass murder instead. Especially since the current occupant of the Oval office is a smiling simpleton with the spine of a jellyfish.
As far as the Bi-Coastals getting nuked, isn’t that the whole question here? Who is going to nuke Kenton, Ohio, Afton, Missouri, or Mud Butte, S. Dakota? Why do you expect the inhabitants of fly over America to be bothered by the Bi-Coastals reaping the fruits of their labors?
Conservatives will win in the end. Your only choice in the matter is will they be Ameriacn conservatives or Islamic conservatives.
That FACT is why most American conservatives see American Liberals as traitors. You ally your self with Iranian or Russian conservatives against American Conservatives.
And you call us stupid;
“Wow, there’s a lot of stupid in this thread.”
Pot, meet the Kettle.
#10 vivo – What good is infiltrating to learn what they’re up to, if you can’t do a damned thing about it? How about blocking their only move?
A couple of commenters have indicated that they are confident that if indeed a missile is actually launched, “well, of COURSE, POTUS would have to retaliate” or words to that effect.
I have a question.
Upon what do you base that hope or assumption?
I expect that he and TOTUS would just go to the rose garden and lecture us about the EXTENT to which we have made the NORKS angry with us, and we had BETTER re-examine our hateful lives and get our minds right.
Based on reality, based on the history of the last 5 months, based on everything I know about this POTUS, I see absolutely no reason to believe that he will retaliate at any point.
Sorry, folks. There’s nothing there.
Hyperbole? Really? What, exactly, is your basis for thinking he would retaliate?
I think he’d send them a secret thank you note for doing the work for him, right after he imposes martial law and cancels all future elections.
Now if you want to add to the mix that the Joint Chiefs and a few well chosen AMERICAN Generals might back him up against a wall and say, “Here’s what we’re going to do. Now sit down, shut up and listen.” Ok. That I can see. But HIM retaliating. Nope.
2. Adina Kutnicki,Israel:
“Instead of fighting tooth and nail to protect US interests, the leadership is opening up the gates to the barbarians seeking to dominate them.”
Garbish. Israel can get their own nukes. Don’t piggyback on the USA.
13. trangbang68:
“Vivo, how does it feel to wake up every morning a deeper idiot than the day before?”
It feels great!
17. Old Soldier:
“- an interceptor will be priceless.”
Don’t we have thousands of them already?
36. donttreadonme:
“Vivo,
It is quite possible that the ONLY reason for your existence is to serve as a warning to others.”
Exactly!
39. Marc Malone:
“#10 vivo – What good is infiltrating to learn what they’re up to, if you can’t do a damned thing about it? How about blocking their only move?”
Good, accurate intelligence gathering can prevent lots of things. If you have to react by shooting missiles, it’s too late.
With good intelligence you can sabotage/destroy targets way before they are used.
I wish the enemy could fire some sort of secret weapon at the country that only kills the Obamabots and leaves the rest of us alone.
American military might has been the only factor stopping the commies from conquering the whole world.
Payback time now, by the marxists masked as the old Democratic Party.
Plain, simple.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Lil Kim must be stupid beyond description to threaten the one country on earth with enough weaponry riding under the waves to turn the entire peninsula into a giant barbecue. These aren’t my father’s nukes waiting for launch codes. So attack if you must Kim but don’t forget to tuck your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye.
We’re set to honeymoon on the island of Kauai from 6/30 – 7/8. We thought $343/round trip was suspiciously cheap when we booked 8 weeks back, clearly someone had the foresight this was coming. Two wedding gifts from two dear leaders, a ‘Taepodong-2′ from a madman and ‘inaction’ from a coward.
Time for a nuclear engineer to provide some answers. Fortunately, I happen to be one.
1. Neutron bombs are battlefield weapons designed to take out enemy tanks. See, tanks can survive low yield nuclear weapons at very short range, but they can’t protect their crews from neutron radiation. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a great tactical weapon, but they’re not bigger and badder than thermonuclear weapons. They’re not intended to be.
2. Nuclear War is quite survivable, but the aftermath is ugly. A bomb shelter can protect you from both the blast and the fallout, provided there are a few miles between you and the target and you stock up on food, water and medicine and properly filter your air. Radiation will decrease to .1% of the original levels within two weeks.
3. The real scary thing about MAD is not so much that our enemies are crazy, but that our President has zero credibility. People don’t believe that he actually would launch a nuke. As dangerous as our enemies are, they are limited by their resources. Russia, on the other hand, is quite dangerous, especially if Putin and Medvedev don’t seriously believe Obama would ever actually use nuclear weapons.
Obama on the other hand asked an interesting question in his book:
why American left never condemned communist regimes for their atrocities
and his Chicago past has elements of mob connection
“NOK’s real hostage in all this is the population of South Korea, which is within easy range of the NORK’s 13,000 artillery pieces, positioned right on the border. It’s much more difficult stopping cannon fire than missiles.”
Not exactly;
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/army.htm
Notice the total number of tubes in ’99 was 11,200. A bit short of 13,000.
Most of the units shooting would be from here;
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/kangdong-corps.htm
It works out to 30 artillery battalions with 18 tubes ( guns) or rocket launchers each. So that is how many can shoot at Seoul. If they have the ammo, which is kept under lock and key, so they won’t get the idea of shooting it at Kim instead.
http://www.defense-update.com/news/MTHEL.htm
After the US Army abandoned this system, Israel got it’s twin up and running and it is being used in Israel today. Rumor is they sold the designs to China.
S. Korea is working on one too and I expect them to have it before long;
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/SKorea_develops_laser_weapons_report_999.html
Youtube M HEL (Natalus) shooting down an artillery shell;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfVJ622_hS0
Granted, this is all a sales pitch and should be taken with a grain of salt, but it does scare the pants off the Liberals. The US Army cancelled the project because it wasn’t useful against Al Qaeda. The Navy is keeping it on life support, since AL Qaeda is an Army problem and a HEL would be VERY useful to a sailor going in harm’s way. Not to mention looking good when China takes the wraps off their system.
Funny, years ago while watching crappy reruns of worn out 80′s and 90′s sitcoms, a query formed in my brain – “what if Erkel grew up and became President?” well, Hell’s Bells!!! My query is being answered…it would be a freakin’ disaster..its Revenge of the Nerds, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Blazing Saddles all rolled up into one…
“I said, the new sheriff’s a (GONG)…no, I said the new Sheriff’s a (GONG)..dag nabbit, the new sheriff’s a…chain-smoking, narcisistic MArxist!!!”
Vivo,41.
That was an insult, you rock-head! You are the Black Knight in The Holy Grail!! “Your arm’s been cut off!” “No its not, its just a flesh wound! Have at you!”
46. myth buster:
“”Time for a nuclear engineer to provide some answers. Fortunately, I happen to be one….. Nuclear War is quite survivable, but the aftermath is ugly. “”
My background in chemistry and medicine disagrees with your ‘simplistic” comments…
As I’ve said before… ARROGANCE and COMPLACENCY…
Scaring the West has gotten Kim a constant flow of FREE MONEY [eg: "aid"]. Game theory is predicated on rewards for correct behavior. In North Korea’s case, “correct behavior” means threatening the West in return for free taxpayer money; it’s called “enabling.”
So the Norks will certainly escalate, threatening the West [including Japan and South Korea] with nuclear annihilation. What will that get them?
Based on past experience, it will get Kim much more free money ["aid"] than he got previously. Just the mere possession of credible nukes will result in Kim’s blackmail of the West over today’s blackmail, doubled and squared.
This is a chess game that Kim is playing with 0bama — and winning [the EU makes consistently wrong moves in this game, and as a result, they must be disregarded].
Since toothless threats have already gotten Kim hundreds of $Billions in “aid”, imagine what the threat of missile-borne nukes will get him!
Is there no leader in the West who will call Kim’s bluff??
Don’t worry, nukes aren’t dangerous. Well, they were back when Reagan and Thatcher had them, but not anymore.
50. donttreadonme:
“Vivo,41.
That was an insult, you rock-head! You are the Black Knight in The Holy Grail!! “Your arm’s been cut off!” “No its not, its just a flesh wound! Have at you!””
Sorry, I don’t do Start Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter or whatever it is you play.
46. myth buster:
“3. The real scary thing about MAD is not so much that our enemies are crazy, but that our President has zero credibility. People don’t believe that he actually would launch a nuke.”
I fully agree with that perception.
Did you see how he killed that fly?
Quietly but swiftly. Take it, you paranoids.
Turner explains, “They claim the issue was monetary but obviously they have no concern with spending anywhere but on defense.”
This is not completely true. Actually, the Dept of Justice also took hits, FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshals. In short anyone who carries a gun is obviously a bad guy and his budget should be cut. Any one who wears an ACORN t-shirt is good and his budget is dangerously low.
He can’t spend a billion on ballistic missile defense program research, but he can spend $88 billion for ACORN. I guess that means he’s waging war against his own society, because that’s the purpose of ACORN.
Our external enemies know that BarryO and his millions of adoring fans are distracted by war against us traditional Americans. It means they can have their way with us. These internal traitors also hate the military, and everyone under the rank of general/admiral knows it. The generals and admirals mostly go along with the usurpation of power.
Gee, I was getting all depressed lately a this story just saved me a cool $60.
I have renounced violence as it is so counter productive. Unless you can kill-em-all, it just empowers them. But on the other hand if I can get a third party to nuke the home city of ABC, NBC, CBS, AP, and the New York Times I don’t see any fall back especially since I know the perfect, legal, and effective way to do it.
Keep enraging the islamo-fascists with headlines on gay marriage. Back off on any action and continue toothless diplomacy to look weak. Let Koreans test their missiles and nukes. Kowtow in the middle east and attack Israel diplomatically. etc, etc. Most importantly, stop missile defense.
How do I accomplish all of this? Easy, Safe, Effective, Legal. I was going to give $20 bucks each to the DailyKos, MoveOn.org, and the DemocraticUnderground to keep them doing what they do so well. But now they and the Democrats and the MSM have hit my entire to-do list and I get to save $60. WooHoo! Goodbye New York City and the MSM.
Excuse me now while I go back to reading, “The Effect of Nuclear Weapons on Human Beings.” Drool.
There is nothing surprising about the cuts. Clinton used military slashing to pad his budgets during his entire Presidency. Military morale was at an huge low during this period and it was very telling that it took the US 6 MONTHS to move our forces to the Gulf, requiring the leasing of foriegn transports and pulling ships out of mothball. Now Obama is cutting missle defense and programs such as the F-22… a program which employed tens of thousands in well paying jobs. How much work do you think the average advanced avionics specialist is going to find in the private sector? I don’t think Boeing is quite fielding the same hardware… or requires that form of expertise.
Considering there are still some tenacious people demanding that Barry produce his COLB, he’s probably hoping that Hawaii sustains a hit. Then he can claim the document(s) proving (or not) his eligibility were so tragically lost in the attack.
World events are making defense cuts seem pretty weak. Hopefully that will save our bacon and preserve our military somewhat. Let’s cut elsewhere.