Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The U.S. Missile Defense Shield: Corruption, Inc.

Russia thinks the U.S. is building a missile shield in Eastern Europe to neutralize the Russians' nuclear deterrent, which would tempt U.S. leaders to engage in a first-strike nuclear assault. The U.S., under the Bush Administration and under the Obama Administration, claims the missile shield is intended to thwart any attack from a newly nuclear Iran. What is the truth of the matter?

I find all the sides miss the point of the shield. As always, follow the money. Who gets rich from the missile shield? Defense contractors, mainly. Big corporations. It's easy pickings for them. Best of all, it does not require a nasty, ugly war as in Iraq.

This is so obvious, I am surprised that conservative Republicans actually believe the propaganda that Iran poses such a huge threat to civilization. Iran could be obliterated in an instant. It's about the size of Alaska (I checked my globe to be sure). That's not very big compared to the U.S. I understand that fanatical Islamists claim to prefer martyrdom to life. However, I doubt the senior leadership in Iran would sacrifice their entire population, and the health of Muslims in surrounding countries, to a nuclear engagement. For the most part, religionists, whether Christian or Islamic, give lip service to God but continue eating food and drinking water, because they prefer life to death, and don't look to God for nourishment.

The idea of a nuclear missile defense is impressive only if you don't think about it very much. People tend to think of ballistic missiles when they think of nukes, only because that has been the traditional method of delivery by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Nuclear arms can be deployed in a variety of ways, including by tactical battlefield groups, such as commando units. They can also be smuggled across borders. The deterrence factor is what keeps nations from using nuclear weapons, because there would be a great outcry for vengeance the moment any nuke was used, whether by terrorists or by a nation.

Instead of squandering hundreds of billions of dollars on new military gadgetry in a time of peace, the United States needs to tend to its own affairs. What good has come out of the U.S. in the last ten years? Most people around the world will say the U.S. just exports wars, violence and hatred, and that is true. We do not build good cars, televisions or computers anymore. Those devices are imported in parts from factories in Asia, and just a few factories in the U.S. where the owners are Asian, not American. Most U.S. college students are majoring in things like Business and Law to perpetuate scams upon the poor and exploit workers. Who is learning important skills such as science and medicine? The emphasis in schools is upon sports, but the world is not going to buy our football players, and football will not conquer cancer or develop the next great method of transportation. Where is the emphasis upon science? Why do people gather together to watch the Super Bowl, but not a science documentary?

The country is a dying wrathful tiger, striking out at the beetles circling about it. The beetles pose no real threat, but the tiger in its delirium thinks they are dangerous enemies. If the tiger would only get up and walk over to the watering hole, it might recover from its sickness and become strong again, but it spends all its remaining energies on striking at foes.

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