With all due respect I think you should apologize for the above remark. I am offering an opinion of what I see as the reality as it exists and I resent that you seem to wish to debate a difference of opinion with a personal smear instead.

We obviously disagree and I respect that your opinion is different than mine. I would request that you be at least open to do the same. And, again with due respect, I am curious of the “…facts…” you are speaking of?

Is it a “…fact…” that Iran curently does not have the capability to hit Europe with any sort of significant ballistic weapon armed with WMD?

It is a “…fact…” that the currnet American ABM technology has not been proven to work to any significant degree?

Is it a “…fact…” that the American government has spend well ofer $150 Billion over the years on a technology that has not provided one single bit of defense to it’s citizens or allies over the years?

I would submit that the answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes. I anxiously await the opportunity to read the “…facts…” you are speaking of.

Just some further evidence of how wrong bgnewf is and the importance of understanding what it is that you are talking about before you start talking.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/11/12/iran.missile.ap/?iref=mpstoryview

Iran’s new sold fuel missile can reach Europe.:rolleyes:

SOC, just a thought, could the decision to use an SM-3 in this years satellite test be associated with these developments. The idea being to demonstrate that a satellite undertaking reconnaissance with the intention of providing targeting data for a ballistic missile strike would itself be vulnerable to sea based ASAT capability attached to the CVBG (or whatever fleet combination was in use)???:confused:

Where? As far I know T. Postol is a highly respected scientist. He includes in the slides some detection-tracing delays for the interception simulations. Anyway, I always affirmed that have some limited anti-Russian potential (not that was designed to be anti-Russian). This potential is to be handled in the Russian nuclear planning. They decided that Iskander are a cheap “insurance”, just in case. Russia also doesn’t seem impressed by the Patriot in Poland

Who cares, only in Russia’s mind is this about Russia.:rolleyes:

With due respect, that is not what I meant. The entire enterprise here is being sold as a means to protect the West from a threat from Iran. What I am saying is that not only does the threat not exist but it is highly unlikely to exist in any significant way for many many years. It might down the road but not for a long time. Furthermore this deployment plan has been sped up by the Bush Administration well before the technology beind deployed has been even proven to work in a rudimentary fashion.

If this is all about “…sending a message…” to Russia about NATO’s intention to protect Eastern Europe then it would be better to base a few squadrons of F-15’s/F-16’s in Poland and place an Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Czech Republic to act as trip wires. This would certainly be cheaper than some flawed ABM system.

It already exists, southern Europe already falls under Irans missile umbrella.

Todays missile is a poor example as its solid fuel gives it a shorter range than the liquid fueled Shahab series.

It is unclear at this time whether you are being deliberately dishonest or if you are just ignorant of the facts.

We can summarise the topic in the following points:
1. It has been demonstrated that the Pole site HAVE some anti-Russian potential (http://russianforces.org/files/BriefOnEastEuropeMissileDefenseProposal_August24,2007_FinalReduced.pdf)
2. This potential is negligible in case of a Russian first strike and moderate for a Russian counter-strike.
3. So, the deployment is mainly of political nature with the aim of i.e. strength the NATO roots in east Europe.
4. Since point (2), the Russian answer (deployment of Iskander in Kaliningrad) is also of political nature. I.e. any unilateral NATO move with some aniti-Russian potential (even a low one) will not go unanswered.
5. As far as the Pole ABM site will go ahead, its “Nemesis”, the Kaliningrad Iskander deployment also will go ahead.
6. The Iskander affair seems more like an answer from Medvedev to the Bush plans. So we should wait and see. Mr Obama view on the affair is unknown so far.

The polish ABM site is to intercept ballistic missiles coming out of the Middle East, live with it.

Can you please not attempt to generalise myself and my behaviour based on one remark on a topic, in a forum, where the outlying goal is to observe other people’s contributions? I don’t appreciate being victimised because I was the one who chose to express my opinion, out of others on this forum and countless more who are not part of it.

This is the last I am going to say on the matter, as it is against the CoC to have an argument in the open forum and I do not want to be moderated 🙂

Funny, you dont appreciate being victimised yourself but you find the victimisation of the elderly hilarious.:mad:

Slight over exaggeration perhaps? All this boils down to is opinions, opinions, opinions. Perhaps I’m just from a generation that has become more accustomed to a ‘new’ form of comedy. I know for definite that the media has vastly broadened the range of what some 18-30’s consider ‘shocking’ and ‘disturbing’. Perhaps if you look at the demographic of those who officially complained, it might reveal that the majority all lie within an older generation and perhaps this may be because they have grown up with a set of different values. This wouldn’t be the first time (and it certainly won’t be the last) that a figure in the media has caused controversy due to a comment or act made towards an individual.

I respect your dislike of the issue and seeing as this is a good natured internet forum, all I ask is that you appreciate the fact I have a different opinion. The extensive divide on the topic clearly shows that there are a lot against the incident and a lot that were not fazed by it.

The problem is that your opinion makes it very clear that you reagard prank phone calls to elderly people with the intention of taunting them about the sexual activities of their grand children. A disgusting act irrelevent of age, only a poorly educated hooligan would support such an idea and in no way is it a ‘new sort of comedy’.

Your sense of morality and social responsibility is clearly misguided. I assume that you will be throwing eggs at a nursing home tonight just for the comedy value?:mad: