henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (10/09/85)
> Since the superpowers have seen fit to escalate the arms race to space, > I don't see how a space discussion group can avoid talking about space > weapons and their implications. Easily, by punting it to net.politics or fa.arms-d. I am thoroughly sick of Usenet debates on SDI, having been an active participant in two of them already. Can we please keep the subject *off* net.space?!? Remember that SDI is not necessarily space-based, and that most of the debate [Will it work? How good does it have to be? Will it destabilize? How much will it cost? Is it desirable?] has little or nothing to do with space. If we are going to talk about space weapons, then we should *not* debate the workability or merits of SDI, except as it *directly* relates to space. Arguing about how many warheads it must shoot down or whether it will work is out of order, as is discussion of its effects on deterrence. What would be in order, for example, is a discussion of why the "militarization of space" by the USAF causes all manner of uproar, when various navies have been "militarizing the oceans" for centuries without such comment. My personal view is reflected in the line Arthur C. Clarke wrote many years ago in "Prelude to Space": "Nationalism ends at the stratosphere!". This would imply a total ban on all forms of weaponry operating in space, which includes all ICBMs and other long-range ballistic missiles. Note that I have changed the Subject line, since we're well off the topic of ASATs. -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry