You may not remember the Cold War. It wrapped up nearly 20 years ago, in 1991. The wall came down, the fingers came off the triggers of the nuclear arsenal, the divide between Communists and Capitalists just kinda melted away.
But while the rest of us sorta forgot about it, there was a huge military industrial machine that had been built on the structure of that war -- and it wasn't gonna fade away on its own. In fact, our government has been funding that war ever since. We've been continuing to research, develop, and build weapons systems that were originally intended, dozens of years ago, to fight against the Soviet Union.
You could think it's pretty silly, but that's YOUR tax dollars going to those defense contractors. And they're getting fatter and richer every day. So they're not gonna let that money get away without a fight. They've been very clever about preventing us from dismantling the big machine. They spread jobs all over the country, they spend loads on lobbyists and Congressional campaigns.
So when Obama and Gates are willing to stand up and take them on: It's a big deal.
The end of the F-22? A big BIG deal. And a tough battle.
And now? A dramatic change in course on missile defense. It's pretty great: a realistic assessment of the world situation; a hard look at our resources and the technology; and an end to Cold War perceptions...
I was a soldier in the cold war, as a member of the Pershing II nuclear missle program. You idiots have no idea how close the Soviets came to bringing full scale nuclear war. The Pershing II was the single most powerful deterrent to that not happening, and the knowledge that President Reagan was not afraid to "pull the trigger".
I am glad you have a place to excersie your first amendment rights. I am excercising mine as well. You are a bunch of simple minded hippies with no concept of the real dangers to this country.
Posted by: Senator Fancy Pants | October 01, 2009 at 11:39 PM