Two NYT LTTE writers say Missle Test Failure Clinton's Fault...(!?!?)

[No Mandate Here.]

...and praise * for scrapping ABM treaty.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/opinion/l17missile.html?oref=login>

To the Editor:

From the outset, President Bush has underscored the need for an ambitious, comprehensive missile defense comprising a variety of systems. The subject of the Dec. 15 test, the ground-based midcourse defense interceptor, represents the sole element of the less advanced system proposed by the Clinton administration.

Both testing and development of the program were severely restricted by the Antiballistic Missile Treaty until President Bush chose to remove this constraint in favor of a more multilayered approach to missile defense. This method seeks logically to integrate assets in a variety of ways that improve the effectiveness of the midcourse defense system and explore other advanced concepts.

With this recent test, it is important to realize that the failure to launch is not a failure of the program. Indeed, self-diagnostic systems detected an error and prevented the missile launching so that the interceptor may receive a proper evaluation in the future.

The interceptor rocket did not fail but will live to see another day. When that day comes, we can then judge the maturity and capability of the system.

Jeff Kueter
Andrew Plieninger
Washington, Dec. 16, 2004
The writers are, respectively, president and research associate at the George C. Marshall Institute.


Will the neocons and the sheeple ever see this as the biggest Red state corporate welfare program in history? I doubt it.