Billion Dollar Boondoggle Defense System moves forward

Email Print posted by jrolsen 07/10/2008 09:54:26 AM EST

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Truly a story for the Absurd News Alert.

On Tuesday the United States and the Czech Republic signed a pact moving Bush's imaginary missle shield forward. Despite widespread opposition by the Czech people, the Czech government moved forward. 



 

The United States and the Czech Republic moved forward yesterday to build Bush's "Missle Shield."

This despite the fact that current polls show that 65-70% of the Czech people don't want the system. I'm not sure what the Czech government is thinking, agreeing to a deal with the Bush administration (not the most popular person in the world) to put a system in their country that is both unpopular and doesn't work. What are they getting out of this? Is the US paying them? 

What also struck me as absurd about the story is the deal signed is for the United States to move it's aging missile defense radar system currently based in the Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific to the Czech Republic.


Yes that's right, the multi-billion dollar black-hole of a defense system that has never worked, never passed a test, that Bush say's must be put in place immediately, is based on a radar built in the 1950's.

Where did the Billions go? They couldn't build a new system? I know there have been upgrades, but shouldn't a hundred billion dollar system have a new system?

Why the rush? The system still does not work. They still have trouble just tracking targets (maybe because they are using radar systems built in the 1950's), much less hitting anything.

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Billion Dollar Boondoggle Defense System moves forward | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 hidden)
Here's my guess (none / 0)

I'd bet anything this is nothing but a money deal.  The thing doesn't really make much sense in the real world.  A "rogue state" could simply kick us or Europe in the groin by hitting other much easier targets, like production or transportation facilities in Saudi Arabia.  There's probably some big defense contractor pushing hard for the deal.  Bush and/or his dad probably have a material interest in it through the Carlyle group or some similar connection and he just wants to get the contracts set up and signed before he leaves office.  It won't matter if the thing is never deployed, all that matters is that the contractors get the contract to build the hardware.

It's a little bit of goodbye sodomy from Bush to the taxpayers.

by bfaul on 07/10/2008 12:21:37 PM EST

I agree 100% (none / 0)

by ProfRich on 07/10/2008 01:44:49 PM EST

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Billion Dollar Boondoggle Defense System moves forward | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 hidden)
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