Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: The Nuclear Defense [sic] Message-ID: <7448@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Mon, 29-Dec-86 18:52:36 EST Article-I.D.: utzoo.7448 Posted: Mon Dec 29 18:52:36 1986 Date-Received: Mon, 29-Dec-86 18:52:36 EST References: <271@van-bc.UUCP>, <739@ubc-cs.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 21 > >... The problem is we don't want to spend > >enormous amounts of money putting a large army into Europe. The result > >is the use of the Nuclear defense. > > Endanger the future of life on the planet for cost-effectiveness. > Sounds just like the military mentality. Actually it's the political mentality. This decision was made by, and continues to be backed by, elected politicians. Not that the military has been opposed to the idea, at least in the nuclear-weapons nations, but they're being blamed for something that wasn't really their fault. (Well, with a few exceptions. The USAF Strategic Air Command is not entirely blameless in this mess...) The current situation is not the result of destruction-crazed generals who were only interested in bigger and more devastating weapons; it is much more the result of reelection- crazed politicians who were only interested in cheaper ways to get the same apparent effectiveness in defence, at a time when big defence budgets were very unpopular and tended to cost votes. -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry