Russia Heading Back to Cuba? Venezuala, Too?

[Madison]

Like moths to a flame
Is man ever gonna change?
Time's seen untold aggression
And infliction of pain
If that's the only thing that's stopping war

Then thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Nuke ya, nuke ya

War is just another game
Tailor made for the insane
But make a threat of their annihilation
And nobody wants to play
If that's the only thing that keeps the peace

Then thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Nuke ya, nuke ya

Today was tommorow, yesterday
It's funny how time can slip away
The face of the doomsday clock
Has launched a thousand wars
As we near the final hour
Time is the only foe we have

When war is obsolete
I'll thank God for war's defeat
But any talk about hell freezing over
Is all said with tongue in cheek
Until the day the war drums beat no more

I'll thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Nuke ya, nuke ya

[Matthias]

but you have to examine the P alongside the other things that a government could do with the same money before you declare that this program must happen.

How does this take into account the actions and motives of other actors (states)?

If you have your intelligence community do an analysis and they decide the probability of a rogue nuclear strike is 1-in-1,000 and if it happens, it will kill 1,000,000 people but it will cost you $15 trillion to develop something to stop that, you look if you can save 1,000 other lives for cheaper than $15 trillion.

[thedude]

Secondly, attributing Russia's aggressiveness simply to Bush stepping on their toes is an over-simplification. We have a serious problem growing in Russia and it started prior to the negotiation between the U.S. and Poland. Russia was actually "down" with this missile net if the U.S. agreed to rent a Russian-owned site or if the U.S. expanded the program to include Russia.

It may be an over-simplification (I do try to economize sometimes in these posts) but it is fair to say that if the US hadn't been actively looking to create a missile defense and station them in the former Soviet bloc, Russia would not feel the need, or even urge, to drop silos into our hemisphere.

Russia thinks Obama might be weak and therefore wants to test him. They want the upper hand in international dealings with the US and are hoping he will back down. That is all this is, a test.