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| First ABM installed in Alaska |
| 2004-07-23 |
| EFL. A ground-based missile interceptor was installed Thursday in Alaska's Interior -- the first component of a national defense system designed to shoot down enemy missiles. Crews at Fort Greely lowered the 55-foot-long, three-stage interceptor into one of six silos built behind a double perimeter fence reinforced by heavy barbed wire. "We're coming to the end of an era where we have not been able to defend our country against long-range ballistic missile attacks," said Maj. Gen. John Holly, who heads the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency. Five additional interceptors will be installed at the 700-acre complex by the end of the year, along with another four at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Ten more will be installed at Fort Greely by late 2005, launching the Bush administration's multibillion-dollar system. Cool. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #5 I'm surprised the enviros didn't object to this and take the government to court to stop it. How dare we possibly harm a blade of grass or an insect with a war machine just to protect our country from attack! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-07-23 10:23:37 PM |
| #4 1950's joke I heard in Vegas as a child: Q: "What's an ICBM A: Its what an eskimo produces... |
| Posted by: borgboy 2004-07-23 9:45:28 PM |
| #3 Something sounds odd here. I wonder if much of this is a ruse from the real anti-missile system: air- and space-borne lasers and rail gun weapons? That is, 747s that try and hit the missile just after launch; then spaceborne systems of whatever type that try to hit it enroute; and *then*, finally, an "interceptor", if the other two fail. I suppose it makes sense to unveil your *last* measure of defense *first*, strategically. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-07-23 9:39:12 PM |
| #2 No. We will shoot down they litter rocket pee on it and introduce cabbage virus number 3 to the pennisula. All the while broadcasting the Muppets 24 hours a day. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-07-23 7:51:00 PM |
| #1 now if we are attacked by nkor and we do intercept..will we retaliate? |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-07-23 4:36:33 PM |