[extropy-chat] sole superpower/warfare 2003-2010 comments

[Mike Lorrey]

--- "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury at aeiveos.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> On Fri, 12 Dec 2003, Avatar Polymorph wrote:
> 
> [snip lots of discussion about beam or particle based weapons...]
> 
> > Will the American national government define its stated cultural
> > and political hegemony through the barrel of a beam weapon?
> 
> First, I would question your premise that the warheads are stored.
> I believe that both the U.S. and Russia are destroying a significant
> fraction of them.  That doesn't solve the problem of what to do
> with the plutonium -- I believe that in at least Russia they are
> working on diluting the plutonium down so it can be sold as
> reactor fuel (but you should check this).

The nukes I don't know about, but their delivery systems are being
consumed. Both the US and Russia are using up their old ballistic
missiles as cheap launchers. All of the old Titan missiles have been
used up this way, and minuteman and MX rocket engines are also being
used. The Russians just tested I believe the SS-19 as a launcher for
satellite cargos.

I'd save all the nukes, de-MIRV them, and keep them for when they'll be
needed on Mars for terraforming.

> 
> Second, the average American doesn't view Russia as a significant
> threat any more -- 

Even the last decade of the USSR, they could not have fought their way
out of a paper bag logistically if we had decided to go head to head
with them. Really doesn't matter what your weapons are if your
infrastructure can't support them, which is why so many SSBs are
scuttled and rusting away in Russian ports.

> so while we might fund a beam weapon here
> (the chemical laser on the 747) or particle weapons there (I
> think the Navy may be working on some high velocity/mass
> particle weapons) the general threat is viewed as being
> countries like North Korea or perhaps China (if the Taiwan
> situation blew up) or maybe Pakistan or Iran if the Muslim
> populations got lit on fire for some reason.  So I don't
> think you are going to see large U.S. expenditures on putting
> into place lots of beam and particle weapons.  The average
> American (and the typical opposition politician) is smart
> enough to know that the real risks are in stealth cells,
> shipping containers, porous borders, etc. all of which
> could contribute to the importing of a actual nuclear
> weapon or a dirty bomb.  And don't get me started on
> bioweapons -- we already know you can send those in the
> mail.

I think even those threats are going to be abating so long as the US is
seen in the muslim world as willing to strike out at any perceived
belligerent when a terrorist strike provides the moral opportunity to
do so. If we can't always catch every attacker, I'd rather deter them
all by making them think we are crazy. Sitting still and yakking about
treating terrorists as criminals is the sort of behavior that
encourages them to attack. The whole world knows how soft our justice
system is on criminals...

=====
Mike Lorrey
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                       - Gen. John Stark
"Fascists are objectively pro-pacifist..."
                                       - Mike Lorrey
Do not label me, I am an ism of one...
Sado-Mikeyism: http://mikeysoft.zblogger.com

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