boutons_
07-07-2006, 01:20 PM
The missile defense shield has been an article of faith with Repugs since St. Ronnie's StarWars fantasies.
Faith-based missile defense, as with "Christians" and their ID/creationism, is completely evidence-free. But, trust only Repugs with NatSec.
===============
July 7, 2006
Bush Asserts Shield Could've Blocked Missile
By DAVID STOUT (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_stout/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
WASHINGTON, July 7 — President Bush said again today that North Korea should renounce its missile ambitions, and he said he was fairly confident the United States could have intercepted a North Korean rocket headed for America.
"I think we had a reasonable chance of shooting it down," Mr. Bush said at a televised news conference in Chicago, where he was asked about North Korea's test-firing of seven missiles, including one long-range Taepodong 2.
The president said the missile tests ordered by North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/_kim_jong_il/index.html?inline=nyt-per), is another example of why "we need a ballistic-missile system." The United States has spent billions of dollars developing a missile-defense network, a concept that has evolved greatly since President Ronald Reagan (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/ronald_wilson_reagan/index.html?inline=nyt-per) proposed what is commonly known as a "star wars" system more than two decades ago before the end of the cold war.
Mr. Bush alluded at some length, albeit in general terms, to the Pentagon's emerging missile-defense system. "It's hard for me to give you a probability of success," he said when asked if the United States could have intercepted the long-range missile if it had been bound for America instead of splashing down in the Sea of Japan.
Then Mr. Bush went on to say there would have been a reasonable chance of picking it off, "at least that's what the military commanders told me."
The Pentagon is seeking $9.3 billion for its missile-defense program in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The program, which has shrunk from its early cold war concept into one meant to counter dangers from countries like North Korea and Iran, has been marked both by successes and conspicuous failures. Critics have said it is way behind and ineffective, but its proponents have insisted that none of the technical problems are insurmountable.
Mr. Bush spoke at an hourlong news conference and said he enjoyed the chance to get away from Washington and into the Midwest, especially to the "fabulous city" of Chicago, whose mayor, Richard M. Daley (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/richard_m_daley/index.html?inline=nyt-per), helped Mr. Bush celebrate his 60th birthday on Thursday, two years after campaigning against him.
North Korea consumed much of the back-and-forth between the president and his questioners, with Mr. Bush emphasizing his faith in diplomacy to make the Korean Peninsula safe eventually and inviting Mr. Kim to better the lot of his people by ending his country's self-imposed isolation.
"Get rid of your weapons, and there's a better way forward," Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Bush professed not to be impatient over Japan's resistance to imposing United Nations (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/united_nations/index.html?inline=nyt-org) sanctions on North Korea. Diplomacy, he said, is by nature slow and cumbersome, but far better than military action.
Foreign policy issues dominated the session in which Mr. Bush said again that Iraq is "the central front of the war on terror," and that the United States must not fail there. He said that he accepted the Supreme Court's rejection of military-style tribunals to try detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that he welcomed the chance to work with Congress on devising other kinds of trials.
The president used the news session to speak out again for a "comprehensive" approach to immigration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) legislation, one he said could be infused by compassion as well as security-consciousness. "The two don't conflict," he said, implicitly voicing the hope that the chasm between the House and Senate over illegal immigration can be bridged.
Mr. Bush chuckled when he was asked whether he was considering not campaigning for Republican Congressional candidates, given his sagging standing in recent public-opinion polls.
The president said that he enjoyed campaigning for Republican candidates, and that none had asked him to stay away. "We will hold the House and the Senate," he said.
Mr. Bush, who often expresses disdain for polls, said, "You win elections by believing something."
Faith-based missile defense, as with "Christians" and their ID/creationism, is completely evidence-free. But, trust only Repugs with NatSec.
===============
July 7, 2006
Bush Asserts Shield Could've Blocked Missile
By DAVID STOUT (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_stout/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
WASHINGTON, July 7 — President Bush said again today that North Korea should renounce its missile ambitions, and he said he was fairly confident the United States could have intercepted a North Korean rocket headed for America.
"I think we had a reasonable chance of shooting it down," Mr. Bush said at a televised news conference in Chicago, where he was asked about North Korea's test-firing of seven missiles, including one long-range Taepodong 2.
The president said the missile tests ordered by North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/_kim_jong_il/index.html?inline=nyt-per), is another example of why "we need a ballistic-missile system." The United States has spent billions of dollars developing a missile-defense network, a concept that has evolved greatly since President Ronald Reagan (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/ronald_wilson_reagan/index.html?inline=nyt-per) proposed what is commonly known as a "star wars" system more than two decades ago before the end of the cold war.
Mr. Bush alluded at some length, albeit in general terms, to the Pentagon's emerging missile-defense system. "It's hard for me to give you a probability of success," he said when asked if the United States could have intercepted the long-range missile if it had been bound for America instead of splashing down in the Sea of Japan.
Then Mr. Bush went on to say there would have been a reasonable chance of picking it off, "at least that's what the military commanders told me."
The Pentagon is seeking $9.3 billion for its missile-defense program in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The program, which has shrunk from its early cold war concept into one meant to counter dangers from countries like North Korea and Iran, has been marked both by successes and conspicuous failures. Critics have said it is way behind and ineffective, but its proponents have insisted that none of the technical problems are insurmountable.
Mr. Bush spoke at an hourlong news conference and said he enjoyed the chance to get away from Washington and into the Midwest, especially to the "fabulous city" of Chicago, whose mayor, Richard M. Daley (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/richard_m_daley/index.html?inline=nyt-per), helped Mr. Bush celebrate his 60th birthday on Thursday, two years after campaigning against him.
North Korea consumed much of the back-and-forth between the president and his questioners, with Mr. Bush emphasizing his faith in diplomacy to make the Korean Peninsula safe eventually and inviting Mr. Kim to better the lot of his people by ending his country's self-imposed isolation.
"Get rid of your weapons, and there's a better way forward," Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Bush professed not to be impatient over Japan's resistance to imposing United Nations (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/united_nations/index.html?inline=nyt-org) sanctions on North Korea. Diplomacy, he said, is by nature slow and cumbersome, but far better than military action.
Foreign policy issues dominated the session in which Mr. Bush said again that Iraq is "the central front of the war on terror," and that the United States must not fail there. He said that he accepted the Supreme Court's rejection of military-style tribunals to try detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that he welcomed the chance to work with Congress on devising other kinds of trials.
The president used the news session to speak out again for a "comprehensive" approach to immigration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) legislation, one he said could be infused by compassion as well as security-consciousness. "The two don't conflict," he said, implicitly voicing the hope that the chasm between the House and Senate over illegal immigration can be bridged.
Mr. Bush chuckled when he was asked whether he was considering not campaigning for Republican Congressional candidates, given his sagging standing in recent public-opinion polls.
The president said that he enjoyed campaigning for Republican candidates, and that none had asked him to stay away. "We will hold the House and the Senate," he said.
Mr. Bush, who often expresses disdain for polls, said, "You win elections by believing something."