Discussion about hot topics trending today

[Gatefan1976]

The Iron dome system was created by Israeli and US military contractors, I would say it's about the best you can get ATM.

But sure, get them nukes with your "lazer"
The "star wars" program was a tool, not to defend from M.A.D., but to send Russia broke trying to compete with US economic power.

[Annoyed]

The Iron dome system was created by Israeli and US military contractors, I would say it's about the best you can get ATM.

But sure, get them nukes with your "lazer"
The "star wars" program was a tool, not to defend from M.A.D., but to send Russia broke trying to compete with US economic power.

And it was very effective, wasn't it?

But do you really think the full technological capabilities of the U.S. military are a matter of public knowledge? If so, I have some swampland resort property in Florida that you may be interested in.

Who knows what may have developed behind closed doors in over 30 years?

[Gatefan1976]

And it was very effective, wasn't it?

Yup.

But do you really think the full technological capabilities of the U.S. military are a matter of public knowledge? If so, I have some swampland resort property in Florida that you may be interested in.

Weapons and tech -hardware- wise, yeah, pretty much. Nothing on the level of functioning lasers with high speed tracking would stay secret for all that long. Soft ware and such, no, I don't think we know all that could be done by the USAS.

Who knows what may have developed behind closed doors in over 30 years?

I might be off by a few years, but the Iron dome was completed in around 2008, it really is the cutting edge tech for the discerning missile/rocket defence enthusiast.

[aretood2]

And it was very effective, wasn't it?

But do you really think the full technological capabilities of the U.S. military are a matter of public knowledge? If so, I have some swampland resort property in Florida that you may be interested in.

Who knows what may have developed behind closed doors in over 30 years?

You see, there's this little thing called "Deterrence". It means that country A wants countries X, Y, and Z to know that country A can kick their rear ends and not get hurt at all should X, Y , and Z ever wish to start something with A. So yes, unless the technology involved is related to intelligence gathering or specific capabilities that are strategic necessities (Such as things that if the enemy knew them, they could develop strategies against those specific details), the US government would want everyone to know what its military is capable of. Especially when it comes to nuclear deterrence because when one missile gets launched, all bets are off and the world as we know it ends. If the US did have a magic Star Wars program, it would want Iran and North Korea, and China, and Russia to know about it (That's part of the reason they made it up in the first place). North Korea's threats become meaningless if the US can prevent an actual attack.

Why do you think Israel is so worried about nuclear Iran? Because if Iran gets nukes, there's very little Israel can do to prevent its utter destruction.

[Annoyed]

You see, there's this little thing called "Deterrence". It means that country A wants countries X, Y, and Z to know that country A can kick their rear ends and not get hurt at all should X, Y , and Z ever wish to start something with A. So yes, unless the technology involved is related to intelligence gathering or specific capabilities that are strategic necessities (Such as things that if the enemy knew them, they could develop strategies against those specific details), the US government would want everyone to know what its military is capable of. Especially when it comes to nuclear deterrence because when one missile gets launched, all bets are off and the world as we know it ends. If the US did have a magic Star Wars program, it would want Iran and North Korea, and China, and Russia to know about it (That's part of the reason they made it up in the first place). North Korea's threats become meaningless if the US can prevent an actual attack.


Why do you think Israel is so worried about nuclear Iran? Because if Iran gets nukes, there's very little Israel can do to prevent its utter destruction.

You see no value in "keep 'em guessing" ?

Granted, if Iran gets nukes, Israel (along with many others in the region) is indeed in deep doo-doo. Which is why any sane country will do everything in its power to stifle Iran's desires in that area. But Israel isn't the US, and doesn't have its technical capabilities.

I'm just saying that I wouldn't be at all surprised if the US secretly pursued Star Wars over the decades, and has developed something no one knows about.

[Falcon Horus]

I hope they don't let you down.

[Coco Pops]

You see no value in "keep 'em guessing" ?

Granted, if Iran gets nukes, Israel (along with many others in the region) is indeed in deep doo-doo. Which is why any sane country will do everything in its power to stifle Iran's desires in that area. But Israel isn't the US, and doesn't have its technical capabilities.

I'm just saying that I wouldn't be at all surprised if the US secretly pursued Star Wars over the decades, and has developed something no one knows about.

I am pretty sure that Israel has nukes.......

[aretood2]

You see no value in "keep 'em guessing" ?

Granted, if Iran gets nukes, Israel (along with many others in the region) is indeed in deep doo-doo. Which is why any sane country will do everything in its power to stifle Iran's desires in that area. But Israel isn't the US, and doesn't have its technical capabilities.

I'm just saying that I wouldn't be at all surprised if the US secretly pursued Star Wars over the decades, and has developed something no one knows about.

What use is there? The best way to deter attack is to make the enemy feel that not only would an attack be pointless (Since it can and will be intercepted/neutralized), it would cause them great harm to even try to attack. MAD was based on that principle. Not only did we "have" the Star Wars program to prevent damage from a Nuclear attack, we had the ability to nuke them into non-existence. Of course, our defense technology was simply a bluff.

But a country would rather, logically, flaunt its capabilities than admit that they have none or hide them. The best course of victory is by not having to actually fight to get it.

[Annoyed]

What use is there? The best way to deter attack is to make the enemy feel that not only would an attack be pointless (Since it can and will be intercepted/neutralized), it would cause them great harm to even try to attack. MAD was based on that principle. Not only did we "have" the Star Wars program to prevent damage from a Nuclear attack, we had the ability to nuke them into non-existence. Of course, our defense technology was simply a bluff.

But a country would rather, logically, flaunt its capabilities than admit that they have none or hide them. The best course of victory is by not having to actually fight to get it.

What if some of your potential opponents don't process risk/reward by anything we would recognize as logical behavior? Such as religious fervor?

Thinking "logically", with or without "Star Wars", no single country on the face of the earth would dare consider engaging with us in any sort of military combat. The old Jim Croce line comes to mind; "You don't tug on Superman's cape".

The best anyone could hope for would be MAD, with the rest of the earth's population as collateral damage. They couldn't possibly hope for a win, using "logical thought".

But many of our potential foes don't think according to those logical rules. So for them, it might damn well be a good idea to keep such a thing secret, so they don't try to find a way to defeat it.

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

Not much use as a deterrent though..

If your aim is to be so intimidating no one would ever dare attack you, you have to show off what you've got.

Have you ever wondered why military parades and airshows are so much a part of your culture?

I'll give you a hint, it's not just so the masses can cheer and wave miniature American flags..

And what you're describing is "peace through intimidation" that's not peace. That's oppression. You sound like you want to turn the entire world into a US run police state.

There will always be people who stand up and fight back.

[aretood2]

What if some of your potential opponents don't process risk/reward by anything we would recognize as logical behavior? Such as religious fervor?

Thinking "logically", with or without "Star Wars", no single country on the face of the earth would dare consider engaging with us in any sort of military combat. The old Jim Croce line comes to mind; "You don't tug on Superman's cape".

The best anyone could hope for would be MAD, with the rest of the earth's population as collateral damage. They couldn't possibly hope for a win, using "logical thought".

But many of our potential foes don't think according to those logical rules. So for them, it might damn well be a good idea to keep such a thing secret, so they don't try to find a way to defeat it.

The weapons to defeat those enemies are intelligence based. A nuclear shield won't do much good when they can simply use a network of spies and traitors and infiltrators to send us a dirty bomb. So as Gatefan said, the US is keeping its software type capabilities secret, but not its hardware type. Hardware type would be things like the "Star Wars" program which is what you seem to be referring to when you say that the US is probably hiding its true capabilities.

Not much use as a deterrent though..

If your aim is to be so intimidating no one would ever dare attack you, you have to show off what you've got.

Have you ever wondered why military parades and airshows are so much a part of your culture?

I'll give you a hint, it's not just so the masses can cheer and wave miniature American flags.

Military parades? You know that not once has the US ever had one of them, right? As for air shows, do you meant things like the Blue Angles? Those are mostly recruiting tools and are only seen if you actually seek them out. You won't see them on the news. And many Americans don't even know they exist.

You might be talking about other democracies or countries...

[Annoyed]

Military parades? You know that not once has the US ever had one of them, right? As for air shows, do you meant things like the Blue Angles? Those are mostly recruiting tools and are only seen if you actually seek them out. You won't see them on the news. And many Americans don't even know they exist.

I dunno about your corner of the country, but when the Angels appear here, they are well publicized and covered by the news media. They are primarily a recruiting tool, and as such, the more publicity the better.

In addition, most residents of the area are treated to a free display as the team practices for a few days ahead of the show. I can say with absolute certainty that 6 F/A-18 Hornets flying in formation about 200 ft. above your back yard at around 500MPH is a very impressive sight. Guaranteed to wake the dead if they're late for work, too.

[SoulReaver]

what's to stop any of the nuclear nations from claiming it has a working anti-nuke shield? it's not like other countries can easily verify this in fact the only way to know for sure is to attack with a nuke which - from the attacker's point of view - would be an extremely risky gamble

[Annoyed]

1 word: Believability.

[SoulReaver]

1 word: Believability.

any of the nuclear nations

.