Do we still need a space program?

[Lief Erikson]

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

Me too, though probably for different reasons. It might spur the US and China into a new arms race, as you've implied. The US is so used to being invulnerable that it might freak them out completely.

You may be right. Though I wouldn't characterize the US as feeling invulnerable. I personally feel very nervous about what the future has in store.

Many of us are pretty hyped up about terrorism and the threats of WMDs, nowadays. Our invasion of Iraq is largely the result of that, as are the current stresses between our country and Iran.

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

Perhaps there's one (deeply ironic) consolation: having a true balance of power in the world might be a restraining influence. This was my beef with SDI/missile shields: nuclear weapons can only be justified because of the principle of "mutually assured destruction". As soon as one side gets a system which prevents them being destroyed by enemy nukes, you have no justification for having them.

I doubt that having a true balance of power would work as a restraining influence. Last time, when the USSR and the USA balanced each other out, incidents such as the Korean War and Vietnam War were the result of their facing off. And the Cuban Missile Crisis nearly ended the world altogether. So that's certainly not a situation I'd wish back again.

Originally Posted by The Gaffer

I would hope that this gets both sides to sit around the table and come up with some sort of treaty. And preferably soon, before Taiwan kicks off...

Depends what sort of treaty. I wouldn't want anything that puts us in a position where we're hands-off on China, and they can feel free to take over nearby countries like the USSR did.

My own hopes for peace lie in economics. The more our country and China become economically fastened to one another, the less likely it is that a war in some future crisis result between our countries. It also would become more likely that we'd be sensitive to one another's political interests, if we're economically profiting from one another.