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From: david@rand-unix.UUCP (David Shlapak)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: "The Threat" and Missile Reliability
Message-ID: <1818@rand-unix.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 15-Jun-84 10:22:14 EDT
Article-I.D.: rand-uni.1818
Posted: Fri Jun 15 10:22:14 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Jun-84 05:12:51 EDT
References: <1699@iddic.UUCP>, <5000091@uokvax.UUCP>
Organization: Rand Corp., Santa Monica
Lines: 24


    The reason the U.S. doesn't test missiles out of operational silos
    has nothing to do with fears about their reliability...our ICBMs,
    unlike the latest Soviet ones, are "hot launched," meaning that the
    rocket engine ignites while the booster is still in the silo, messing
    the launch site up something awful.  Rather than destroy an operational
    silo (and entail millions of dollars in repairs) SAC uses specially
    constructed silos out at Vandenberg.

    Like much of Cockburn's book his section on central nuclear war is
    essentially nonsense.  I could give you about 200 lines about the
    intellectual dishonesty that's ridiculously evident to anyone who
    knows more than he does about defense issues (which is practically
    anyone) but I shan't bore you.  Instead, I'll simply say that missile
    reliabilities on both sides are considerably higher than "15 %."
    Period.  Cockburn has an axe to grind, and he does it well, but
    transparently.

    The Soviets, fortunately, are not "ten feet tall;"  neither are they
    (as Cockburn would have it) one foot tall...in fact, the average
    Soviet conscript is ~5' 6"...


						    --- das