Ronald Reagan's STAR WARS

[Marcio**]

from
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: World :: 'Star wars' looks good to Europe now


BY JEFFREY WHITE

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - U.S. plans to extend its ''star wars'' missile-defense program to Europe, which once dismissed the technology as unproven and unneeded, are gaining acceptance among governments here.
Despite Russia's mounting opposition, the Czech Republic, Poland, and - as of Friday - Britain have all expressed serious interest in hosting parts of the shield. Other countries traditionally cool to the idea have been notably quiet. The trigger: concern about a nuclear Iran.

[KoolChris]

Sad thing that such a defense system has found different motives, now that the Red Threat (except China & North Korea) is no longer an immediate one. The relief many felt when the Eastern Block collapsed, viewing the collapse as the beginning of the end of international military tension, only lasted for awhile. Now we have muslim countries, with highly uneducated, fanatic peoples (unlike the Soviets), and led by extreme religious beliefs, including those concerning death in the name of Allah, & the after-life reserved to those dead in his name. What once divided the Western world and its Eastern counterpart was politics. Now, the growing threat comes from intolerant countries (semi-overtly, as Iran & Syria; or "friendly", as Saudi Arabia) with racial, religious, and civilization contrasts with our own.
Why Ahmadinejad of Iran is allowed the time and free space to do his show is beyond me. The way the EU is fumbling around, (probably hoping the US to react, so they can criticize and look good as they wait for the yanks to do the job), waiting things out, in hope that Iran changes its mind on its own, and decides unilaterally to reverse its armament effort and apologize for being such a f@ckhead, is reminiscent of the way neighboring countries looked the other way, and thrust their heads in the sand when Germany was building a Kolossal army, back in the '30s. Even when Hitler completed the Anschluss, commenters played it down, saying it was legitimate, and would stop there. We all know how things went. If Hitler had not turned against his ally, the Soviet Union; and had the Japs not attacked Pearl Harbor and pried the US into the war, the face of the world would be very different now.
Not to say Ahmadinejad has ANYTHING on Hitler, just that some people will keep pushing until they meet a wall. In this case, I don't see what other substitutes for a wall could apply, other than sudden and massive bombings, both to draw a warning, and to physically eliminate the structures used to constitute a nuclear power, and perhaps, some Iranian leaders at the same time. Other "softer" (economic, slap on the wrist) measures will be of no use, since they won't hamper any ongoing nefarious effort; only will they allow Iran to play the victim, which is a role many an Islamic Republic has enjoyed playing in the recent past, with avid audiences in their fellow countries.
So even if I find it sad and alarming such a "shield" is growingly seen as necessary in Europe, I find it reassuring it will be concieved with the Americans, and not some unstable and quick-tempered country that could just as easily turn against the EU or USA.