Political Forums - Da, da, dadada DA da,

dadada DA da,
dadadada.

In case you couldn't tell from my harmonious text singing, that's the theme to Star Wars :D

2.0 has been booting up for a while: “Ground-based Mid-Course Missile Defense”. Already sited in CA and AK they are picking a 3rd site that might be near me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-...course_Defense

"Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is the United States' system for intercepting incoming warheads in space. It is a major component of the American missile defense strategy to counter ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) carrying nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. GMD is administered by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), while the operational control and execution is provided by the U.S. Army, and support functions are provided by the U.S. Air Force. Previously known as National Missile Defense (NMD), the name was changed in 2002 to differentiate it from other U.S. missile defense programs, such as space-based and sea-based intercept programs, or defense targeting the boost phase and reentry flight phases.[1] The program is projected to cost $40 billion by 2017.

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Why? (Hint: it's not, 'Because We Like You :p):

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-bl...se-site-needed

"......

General Charles Jacoby, Commander of Northern Command, has explained its virtues from a purely operational standpoint. He said this year in a Senate hearing, “What a third site gives me, whether it’s on the East Coast or an alternate location, would be increased battle space; that means increased opportunity for me to engage threats from either Iran or North Korea.” In other words, the current architecture defends the U.S. against some threats, but it is not able to defend against all kinds of threats and having another site will provide added and necessary protection.

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Still a contentious issue as we've 'noted' here lately. For those who believe we won't be able to master the simple but difficult task of hitting one moving thing with another, and/or that it's really about space weapons:

http://freepress.org/article/space-w...-town-near-you

"..... when it comes to space warfare, this “mad” future is now, and licking their chops is the Pentagon and their super-rich defense contractors .....

...... was born during the Reagan administration and naively tagged “Star Wars” by an apologist mainstream media .....

Surprisingly, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), often described as a “liberal Senator” by the mainstream press, has thrown his support behind any future GMD site at Camp Ravenna. Brown stated that, “designating Camp Ravenna as a missile defense site would create local jobs and strengthen the regional economy.”

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..... many believed President Obama would cut missile defense when he entered office in 2008, Gagnon says he’s “expanded it”.

“He raised more money from the military-industrial complex than John McCain did during the 2008 Presidential election,” ....

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I'd say like it or not it's here to stay.

Pete