Get ready to squirt whatever you're drinking out of your nose:

US makes missile defense system operational

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=dom...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid concerns over an expected North Korean missile launch, the United States has moved its ground-based interceptor missile defense system from test mode to operational, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Washington Times report that the Pentagon has activated the system, which has been in the developmental stage for years.

"It's good to be ready," the official said.

U.S. officials say evidence such as satellite pictures suggests Pyongyang may have finished fueling a Taepodong-2 missile, which some experts said could reach as far as Alaska.



"There's real caution in how to characterize it so as to not be provocative in our own approach," the defense official said of the move to activate the system.



I feel so much better now

:nuke:

"Bring it on", anyone?

Next move anyone?

...more like Liar's Poker.

Unfortunately, we have a 'tell'...

of a long range missile and now this announcement sounds like Chess.. Who moves next??

We bid a full house, but are actually sitting on a pair of twos...

I think the game was called Global Thermonuclear War in some movie or another. (War Games?)

:nuke: :nuke:

I'll see your missle and raise you a laser defense system ...

now I am scared :scared:

This system cannot even hit a cooperating target, one with a homing beacon in it!!!

Whether it works or not is of no consequence to the folks writing checks to their patrons on OUR checking account.

What system is this? The only tests I have seen were failures.

for us. Of course, we would have to pay them enough so that it would be worth it to them to change their entire political outlook. In effect, we would be buying North Korea. Yes, that might work! Oh, but wait! We can't afford to buy North Korea. We'd have to borrow the money from China. Oh well. It was just a thought. ;-)

IIRC, China now produces a lot of the stuff for all of our high tech stuff.

I thought that thing was nowhere near ready... I hope to God it doesn't mistake a meteorite for a missile and start WWIII.

anti missle missle
anti anti missle missle missle

I remember that meme from Mad Magazine from the '60s, and the article reminded me of it.

operational, doesn't mean that it actualy works, as in this case, where it doesn't.

I'm sure North Korea will follow their missle test with an armada of troops

and we waste all our "intercepting" missiles . . . and after getting hit by all the dummies, they nuke us.

This is why the "anti-missile" strategy is unlikely to work.

My analogy for anybody who defends the "missile shooting down missile" idea is this:

Okay, get a master swordsman and a master archer.

Have the master archer shoot an arrow at the master swordsman.

See if the master swordsman would be able to deflect the arrow. That's enough . . . essentially, we would be trying to "split" the arrow with the missile-shooting-down-missile idea, but I would bet that just plain hitting the arrow may be a bit tough for the swordsman . . .

North Korea launches their ill-prepared and technologically inferior missile over Japan, where it inevitably malfunctions and crashes harmlessly into the ocean.

The Bush administration claims they shot it down with their "Super-Duper Missle Defense System" and that it was headed for the United States, but they saved us from "doom".

I think we can all imagine what happens next.

the system now that it's been 'tested' in actual operation. Next step, $100,000,000,000 no bid contract to their biggest campaign donors defense contractors

Plus, we must add the following parts:

Bush runs around the nation preaching about the threat of North Korea and that because he is President he saved us from the "evildoers". Poll numbers skyrocket as a frenzied public clamors for big explosions and piles of dead "yellow" people.

Yellow is the new Brown.

What a world we live in.

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wtf stealing my lines!

YOu know the one required to allow the missle to intercept?

The one used in the testing of the system? they need to install that ion their missle for the MDS to work...

http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0820-04.htm

and where they intended to launch their missle, and help us out further by putting a tracking device on it, in order for the US to have even the remotest chance of intercepting it?

Such BS.

when that happens. The fallout/debris from any launch of the bogus missile defense system will sink untold numbers of fishing vessels and probably threaten commercial flights.

Think they would blame all that on NK?