Re: OT: Cheney and Disarming American Defense- THE Facts

From: Winfield Hill (Winfield_member_at_newsguy.com)
Date: 10/05/04 

Date: 4 Oct 2004 18:25:06 -0700

Tom Seim wrote...
>
>> The Patriot Missiles were a DISMAL FAILURE.
>> PROOF:
>>
>> "The Patriot missile system was not the spectacular success
>> in the Persian Gulf War that the American public was led to believe.
>> [ snip ]
>> SOURCE: Performance of the Patriot Missile System
>> Activities of the House Committee on Governmental Operations
>> One Hundred Second Congress [ snip ]
>> http://www.ceip.org/files/projects/npp/resources/patriot.htm
>
> The Patriot was deployed in 1991 because that was the only thing we
> had. It was not originally designed for that job. It has since gone
> thru many redesigns:
>
> PATRIOT MISSILE AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM, USA [ snip ]

 Here in Massachusetts we loved the Patriot Missile in its first use,
 defending Israel over a decade ago, and were sorry to learn that its
 effectiveness was not as good as first thought. A direct hit may mean
 that the missile's fusing system is damaged, but it can still mean that
 a devastating impact of the explosives may occur on or near the target
 as the ballistic trajectory finishes its course.

 While we'd like to believe improvements over the last decade have made
 a big difference, quality impartial evidence appears to be lacking, and
 the poor record of the original testifiers has damaged their credibility
 to the point of unbelievability. Also, from our perspective here in
 Massachusetts, the "dismantling" or diaspora of the Patriot program to
 various other contractors has only muddied the water, preventing any
 visual clarity and further damaging our injured pride in the process.

 Let's hope the Patriot Missile's new anti-cruise capability will not in
 the end, years hence, be used primarily against our own cruise missiles,
 by the ultimate users of the foreign buyer's copies of the new version. 

-- 
 Thanks,
    - Win
 (email: use hill_at_rowland-dotties-org for now)

Relevant Pages