None of your protestations present any direct threat to the U.S.

No actors you are concerned with here, state or non-state, can deliver a nuclear payload to this country by any conventional inter-continental ballistic means. Pakistan is developing, or has developed a cruise missile that can deliver a nuclear payload but it's range is limited to 600 to 1000 miles or something of that nature. You can rest assured that there are plans for operations to deal with Pakistani nukes should Mushy be deposed. Iranian nukes are no threat to America. If you are worried about something transported covertly in a shipping container, your current program isn't helping to prevent that.

I'm still laughing at this

http://letters.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/05/08/ledeen/permalink/a602926bace23f5973650f80480a0b54.html

I find it useful to stay away from the Big Events---the "hot-button issues." They muddy the waters.

Anybody who isn't rational to begin with can't handle talking about them. And they are surrounded by propaganda and misinformation, in addition to being factually muddy to begin with.

An analogous nonpolitical event would be the Big Bang.

Bamage... I'm still laughing at this

Glad to be of help to both you and Glenn.

He works hard, (I know, writing is not easy), and we can all use a good laugh now and then.

The only caterpillars I ever flatten are the big, fat green ones that eat my tomato vines. They make a satisfying "splat" when they hit the pavement.

I suspect neocons would too. ;-}

who said: 'They make a satisfying "splat" when they hit the pavement.

I suspect neocons would too. ;-}'

I'd love to find out :-)

Interesting point LWM, the missiles can't reach us.

How many years do you think it will take before they can?

And then? You can thank Ronald Reagan for having the foresight (over 20 years ago) to start development of anti-missile technology, which is now coming to fruition.

I remember when liberals thought Reagan's talk about star wars and anti-missile technology was a ridiculous fairy tale.

Thanks for the opportunity to remind those that did, how wrong they were.

Please define "coming to fruition."

Unless you use the expression to mean "an expensive boondoggle" I suspect we are using different lexicons...

Let me know if I can help you understand the difference between a satellite in a decaying orbit and a ballistic missile.

And then? You can thank Ronald Reagan for having the foresight (over 20 years ago) to start development of anti-missile technology, which is now coming to fruition.

Wow. 20 years of funding for nothing. You DO remember the results of our recent missle-defense tests, right?

I remember when liberals thought Reagan's talk about star wars and anti-missile technology was a ridiculous fairy tale.

It IS a ridiculous fairy-tale, and that has absolutely nothing to do with "liberalism".

Glenn,

OT via Raw Story - The Wired Blog (at http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/05/did-the-new-yor.html) has a piece up entitled: "Investigate the Pentagon Pundit Project - and the New York Times - Yourself, Online"

Of particular interest is the DoD link to this:

"The Defense Department has released thousands of pages of documents related to this outreach effort. Years' worth of internal Pentagon memos, military talking points and interview tapes and transcripts with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are all now posted to the Pentagon's website."

The DoD link is http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/milanalysts/

How many years do you think it will take before they can?

Do you mean Iranian missles? As soon as they develop a space program. How far off do you think that is?

And the Pakistani Babur only has a range of 435 miles. I was confusing kilometers with miles. But the good news is, you can blame Clinton!

In 1998, six Tomahawk cruise missiles fired at Taliban bases in Afghanistan by US destroyers mis-fired and landed in Pakistan. It is speculated that Pakistan seized upon the opportunity to reverse-engineer the Tomahawk and develop its own prototype. The propulsion system appears to approximate that of Tomahawk according to video of its launch.[4] However, there is no confirmation of this, and the Pakistani missile development company, NESCOM has rejected this theory. Some members of NESCOM have come out saying, off the record, that Pakistan has been working on cruise missiles since 1995. Some analysts have noted that the Babur has benefited from Kh-55 technology.[5]. Babur is believed to be extremely accurate. It is steered by an inertial navigation system (INS). INS continuously measures the movement, speed and position of the missile. It is equipped with a precision guidance system that allows the missile to hit small targets. It is powered by a cruise turbo-fan engine which enables the missile to reach an approximate speed of 880 km/h (550 miles/h). The missile's design features can be compared with the American BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile...

The sudden test of the Babur missile surprised some. The United States gave a muted response. India which, though gave no official response, was criticized by its media for not knowing beforehand. Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf praised the Pakistani scientists and engineers by saying that they had once again done the country proud by mastering a rare technology.[7][8] By conducting a cruise missile test Pakistan has joined a select group of countries which have the capability to design and develop cruise missiles. Musharraf also said that Pakistan was not into an arms race with anyone but would never compromise on its strategy of defensive deterrence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babur_missile

OT - More on DoD "Propagandists for Profit™"

From the DoD link of http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/milanalysts/

Tons of stuff to look at and review. Such as "Tara Jones E-mails 200-699" (at http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/milanalysts/16%20Jan%2008/Tara%20Jones%20E-mails%20200-699.pdf ) where she says on January 29, 2007:

...General Petreaus has requested a roundtable meeting with the retired military analysts on Wednesday, January 31...

And here is her "list of invitees":

Retired Miliary Analysts

Colonel Ken Allard (USA, Retired) MSNBC

Mr. Jed Babbin (AF, Former JAG) American Spectator, Real Clear Politics

Admiral Dennis C. Blair (USN, Retired)

Commander Peter Brookes (USN, Reserve) Heritage Foundation

Lieutenant General Frank B. Campbell (USAF, Retired)

Dr. James Jay Carafano (LTC, USA, Retired) Heritage Foundation

Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Cucullu (USA, Retired) Fox News

Lieutenant General Michael P. DeLong (USMC, Retired) Fox News

General Wayne A. Downing (USA, Retired) MSNBC

Lieutenant Colonel Tim J. Eads (USA, Retired) Fox News

General Ronald Fogleman (USAF, Retired)

Lieutenant Colonel John Garrett (USMC, Retired) Fox News

Lieutenant General Buster Glosson (USAF, Retired)

Brigadier General David L. Grange (USA, Retired) CNN

Command Sergeant Major Steven Greer (USA, Retired) Fox News

Major General Timothy M. Haake (USAR, Retired)

Admiral Thomas B. Hayward (USN, Retired) - Former Chief of Naval Operations

Colonel Jack Jacobs (USA, Retired) MSNBC

Admiral David E. Jeremiah (USN, Retired)

General Jack Keane (USA, Retired) ABC

General William F. "Buck" Kernan (USA, Retired) Lehrer Newshour

Colonel Glenn Lackey (USA, Retired)

Admiral Thomas Joseph Lopez (USN, Retired)

Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Maginnis (USA, Retired) Fox News, CNN, BBC, Radio

Major General James "Spider" Marks (USA, Retired) CNN

Dr. Jeff McCausland (Colonel, USA, Retired) CBS (mostly radio)

Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney (USAF, Retired) Fox News

Major Andy Messing Jr. (USAR, Retired) Fox News

Major General Burton R. Moore (USAF, Retired)

General Thomas S. Moorman, Jr. (USAF, Retired)

Major General Michael J. Nardotti, Jr. (USA, Retired)

Captain Chuck Nash (USN, Retired) Fox News

General William L. Nash (USA, Retired) Council on Foreign Relations

General Glenn K. Otis (USA, Retired)

General Joseph Ralston (USAF, Retired)

Lieutenant General Erv Rokke (USAF, Retired)

Major General Robert H. Scales, Jr. (USA, Retired) Fox News

General H. Hugh Shelton (USA, Retired)

Major General Donald W. Shepperd (USAF, Retired) CNN

Lieutenant Colonel Carlton Sherwood (USMC, Retired)

Mr. Wayne Simmons (USN, Retired) Fox News

Major General Perry Smith (USAF, Retired)

Captain Martin L. Strong (USN, Retired)

Captain Robert R. Timberg (USMC, Retired) US Naval Institute

Major General Paul E. Vallely (USA, Retired) Fox News

Colonel John Warden (USAF, Retired)

General Larry D. Welch (USAF, Retired)

Mr. Bing West (USMC, Retired) Atlantic Monthly, Freelance Writer

General Charles E. Wilhelm (USMC, Retired)

General Tom Wilkerson (USMC, Retired) US Naval Institute

(My Bold)

Note the prevalence of Fox News as the "official propaganda outlet of the Repug Party."