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From: medin@ucbvax.ARPA (Milo Medin)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Star Wars -> Nuclear war
Message-ID: <5201@ucbvax.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 3-Mar-85 21:51:52 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.5201
Posted: Sun Mar  3 21:51:52 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 4-Mar-85 20:49:52 EST
References: <827@ames.UUCP>
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Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 34

You are not being fair.  Blainey's chief argument in 'cause of war'
is that war originates out of ambiguity in power distribution.
That is, if one side percieves itself to be clearly inferior
to another, they will not attack.  They may try and become
stronger, but as long as who's on top remains clear, peace will
continue, on the terms of the stronger.  

Let me say this, many of us who have worked on defensive systems
(as I have) don't believe that a global shield can be built
now, or in the near term.  What we do believe is that 
significant increases in deterrence are achieveable.
If you feel that the land based ICBM forces are vulnerable
(as I do) and that they are needed (as I do), then they
must be protected.  Protection can be had with active or passive means.
Nobody complains about building hard silos, but when building
interceptors to stop RV's targeted at those same silos, we are
somehow encouraging WW III.    

Many of the people who argue against BMD are people who buy
MAD.  If you negate MAD, thats a bad thing in their viewpoint.
Well, MAD is obselete, we target counterforce, and have
for a long time.   I see nothing desirable in the deaths of
millions of innocent people in case of a war.  If the scale
of nuclear war can be limited, then thats good.  I don't
advocate it being fought in the first place, but if it
has to be, lets be prepared.  And that preparation will further
serve as a deterrent to the war.  I don't buy MAD, if I did,
I'd feel differently about BMD.  So if we are going to
discuss BMD, lets not fight the old counterforce-countervalue
argument yet again...


					Milo