Trump created the Space Force, Biden grew it, and now its top general worries about cutbacks.
See full article...
See full article...
Maybe Trump should go back to calling his missile shield the Iron Dome
- Thread starter JournalBot
- Start date
Statistical
Ars Legatus Legionis
Trump likely discovered Space Force is boring complicated nerd stuff not a bunch of guys in camouflaged space suits with ray guns going pew pew.
The good news is nobody has ever tried to do national missile defense before. It seems a simple and easy problem. I have heard it described as hitting a bullet with a bullet from over the horizon. How hard can it be? Probably the only thing that was missing was throwing a lot of money at it.
The good news is nobody has ever tried to do national missile defense before. It seems a simple and easy problem. I have heard it described as hitting a bullet with a bullet from over the horizon. How hard can it be? Probably the only thing that was missing was throwing a lot of money at it.
Upvote
96
(103
/
-7)
Upvote
35
(37
/
-2)
The "Iron Dome for America" naming was always incomprehensibly stupid anyway. Iron Dome is a system for intercepting, like, MLRS rockets. Israel's big-kid ABM system is Arrow.
Upvote
50
(52
/
-2)
The last few months were a huge failure in "managing your manager" for the Space Force. Instead of all this nerdy satellite stuff, their first move after the election should have been to recruit a bunch of bodybuilders and make them do Doomguy or Warhammer 40k cosplay. You can even deploy them in lieu of the Secret Service!
Upvote
56
(61
/
-5)
Sure, but to the average human, Iron Dome is a known entity. Most folk around the world have probably at least casually heard the term. "ABM system" is going to be far less understood. The more specific you get with such things, the less regular folk will understand it.
Say "tank" and almost every human on the planet will know what sort of vehicle you're talking about.
Say "Abrams" in the context of tanks and many Americans will get it, as well as military buffs around the world, but you've lost a huge segment of understanding.
Drop "M1A1" in the context of tanks, and you've lost considerably more ears or eyes.
Speaking in broad terms is generally the best idea for non-technical discussions. While I'm loathe to "defend" Trump in absolutely any way, shape, or form, there really wouldn't have been a better comparative option that would be understood by nearly so many folk.
Even if you just said "anti-ballistic missile defense system", a significant number of people would have no idea what that meant. Context might give them "defense system", and "missile", but remember that many humans would happily refer to an LGM-30 Minuteman as a "bomb" and not have any notion that they aren't correct.
Upvote
8
(22
/
-14)
The last time around, SDI/Star Wars paid for a lot of my colleagues' mortgages and their kids' college expenses. Admittedly, college education isn't what it was these days, and nobody can afford houses, but maybe it can pay the rent this time. Or make payments on the car. Or buy some eggs.
Upvote
75
(77
/
-2)
In related news, the Pentagons comms security has been vastly improved.
They're using Tic Tok now.
They're using Tic Tok now.
Upvote
57
(59
/
-2)
The most likely vector will be a weapon smuggled in through one of our ports, not carried on a rocket. If we're worrying about ICBMs, it's already WWIII and it's too late.
Upvote
44
(47
/
-3)
Upvote
35
(36
/
-1)
Literally impossible.
It would require the GDP of the whole planet for 2-3 decades to build…and still fail miserably.
Of course, Steve Bannon can always raise money like he did for the Border Wall (and how is that going?)
It would require the GDP of the whole planet for 2-3 decades to build…and still fail miserably.
Of course, Steve Bannon can always raise money like he did for the Border Wall (and how is that going?)
Upvote
18
(23
/
-5)
With this timeline, someone would choose a chaos chapter to cosplay.
Upvote
7
(9
/
-2)
Upvote
2
(3
/
-1)
Trump and his damned fixation on gold. He's already turned the WH into a freaking gussied-up whorehouse with all the gold plated crap he's vomited everywhere.
Upvote
60
(62
/
-2)
Oooo, I forgot about the wall. I wonder how that's going...
Looks like it went exactly as I expected it to.
Upvote
38
(38
/
0)
I just can't get over the uniform design. It's like Star Court meets Spaceballs with a touch of Nazi black thrown in.
It fits the description near the end of HHGTG's, Restaurant At The End Of The Universe when Arthur Dent teleported to Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B and was discovered:
"The man with the gun moved from the door and circled round them. As he came into the light they could see his black and gold uniform on which the buttons were so highly polished that they shone with an intensity that would have made an approaching motorist flash his lights in annoyance."
I can see that description being the template for creating those uniforms.
It fits the description near the end of HHGTG's, Restaurant At The End Of The Universe when Arthur Dent teleported to Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B and was discovered:
"The man with the gun moved from the door and circled round them. As he came into the light they could see his black and gold uniform on which the buttons were so highly polished that they shone with an intensity that would have made an approaching motorist flash his lights in annoyance."
I can see that description being the template for creating those uniforms.
Upvote
34
(34
/
0)
They wish they could be that good/bad. More like Thousand Suns or perhaps someone would see noise marines and say... hey a band would be nice!
Mind you Health and Human Services would select plague marines.
Upvote
5
(6
/
-1)
We will also build an anti-kaiju wall around the entire continental US, like in Pacific Rim. And we'll build a giant useless Grand Cannon like in Robotech. And we'll do it all with less money than we spend on regular stuff now, because most of that money will be funneled into the pockets of a few billionaire cronies. USA! USA! USA!
Upvote
18
(19
/
-1)
I know, it's pointless, but these things seem to matter for USA's Commander in Chief... a golden armor won't be as protective as an iron one. Gold is too "soft". A titanium dome would've been more inspirational. "THE BEST DOME EVER SEEN IN HISTORY!". 
Upvote
11
(13
/
-2)
There's really only one point in having a ballistic missile defense system, and that's to let Trump and his circle extort the world the way he's extorting the American people.
In the 1980s, when Reagan wanted missile defense, the concept that America could make itself invulnerable to a Soviet counterstrike was terrifying to Gorbachev. It was the chief reason why the Soviets backed off from continuing the trend toward reducing nuclear weapon stockpiles. In fact, because the US was good enough at telegraphing the possibility of a functional missile defense system, the USSR ramped up production of nuclear weapons, so that if they did have to do a counterstrike, they could be assured that they could overwhelm the US missile defense and strike at least some targets.
Why was this so important? Because mutually assured destruction, as crazy as it sounds, was (and still is) a functional deterrent from nuclear-armed nation states actually conducting a first strike against an enemy. Missile defense interferes with that calculus. If I have a weapon system that will annihilate you as an enemy, but your weapon system will do approximately nothing to me, why wouldn't I use it? Or why wouldn't I at least use the threat of it to get what I want?
This is also why intermediate-ranged ballistic missiles get carved out into their own space in international diplomacy: the shorter range, and therefore shorter response time, of IRBMs threatens the ability of the target to respond in kind. Like with missile defense, they destabilize the nuclear world order by giving one side a greater chance that they can "win" a nuclear war by striking first.
In the 1980s, when Reagan wanted missile defense, the concept that America could make itself invulnerable to a Soviet counterstrike was terrifying to Gorbachev. It was the chief reason why the Soviets backed off from continuing the trend toward reducing nuclear weapon stockpiles. In fact, because the US was good enough at telegraphing the possibility of a functional missile defense system, the USSR ramped up production of nuclear weapons, so that if they did have to do a counterstrike, they could be assured that they could overwhelm the US missile defense and strike at least some targets.
Why was this so important? Because mutually assured destruction, as crazy as it sounds, was (and still is) a functional deterrent from nuclear-armed nation states actually conducting a first strike against an enemy. Missile defense interferes with that calculus. If I have a weapon system that will annihilate you as an enemy, but your weapon system will do approximately nothing to me, why wouldn't I use it? Or why wouldn't I at least use the threat of it to get what I want?
This is also why intermediate-ranged ballistic missiles get carved out into their own space in international diplomacy: the shorter range, and therefore shorter response time, of IRBMs threatens the ability of the target to respond in kind. Like with missile defense, they destabilize the nuclear world order by giving one side a greater chance that they can "win" a nuclear war by striking first.
Upvote
39
(41
/
-2)
Trump's not much on science.
What do you get when you take a CRISPR and combine Little Richard's DNA with a potato's>
Donald Trump.
Little Dick Tater.
What do you get when you take a CRISPR and combine Little Richard's DNA with a potato's>
Donald Trump.
Little Dick Tater.
Upvote
5
(10
/
-5)
It can, so long as it has a conscience and a sense of duty to the nation over the executive.
Upvote
14
(16
/
-2)
I'm sure they can get more funding if they think of the audience. Like a missile defense system to protect Mara Lago. Give Trump his own "Gold Dome"
Upvote
2
(3
/
-1)
MAD only works if both sides fear destruction though. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Castro favored a Soviet first strike (presumably because the retaliation would mainly hit the USSR, not Cuba). Mao was also pretty nonchalant about nuclear war (because China was mostly rural and because he considered a million lives to be just a statistic).
Upvote
15
(15
/
0)
Too bad we seem to be giving up on "soft power" spending. You know, the type of investments that reduce or prevent conflicts. Like gathering allies to present a less attractive target for any bullies (cough NATO, but not all those members we are antagonizing and alienating).
Turtling up against the world seems a bottomless pit of expenses. How many billions more will the "cyber defense" group need? CDC (biological weapon defense)? ...
Turtling up against the world seems a bottomless pit of expenses. How many billions more will the "cyber defense" group need? CDC (biological weapon defense)? ...
Upvote
21
(22
/
-1)
As long as that particular Golden Dome is one-way in and no out (think Hotel California)
Upvote
2
(2
/
0)
The use of the word "Golden" reminds of it's overuse in European sports:
"Golden goal"
"Golden boot"
"Golden team"
"Golden set"
"Golden slam"
"Golden goal"
"Golden boot"
"Golden team"
"Golden set"
"Golden slam"
Upvote
-10
(1
/
-11)
Warhammer 40k? Too nerdy for the trumpist base, and way too many rules. Doomguy? Trumpists would rather play the Cacodemons. The only things they will believe is the casus belli given by WWF/WWE announcers.
And even if a nationwide iron dome is viable, you still need to give Iran the actual long range icbm nuculear veppins, sir, for an iron dome to be of any use.
Compared to actually funding useful endeavors like education, the sheer amount of wasted effort going to this kind of white elephant WWE show is supremely dumbfounding.
Even funding wannabe blockchain projects is tons of magnitude more useful than funding ars(e) holes in the sky.
Edit: fat fingers
Last edited:
Upvote
1
(3
/
-2)
I know, it's pointless, but these things seem to matter for USA's Commander in Chief... a golden armor won't be as protective as an iron one. Gold is too "soft". A titanium dome would've been more inspirational. "THE BEST DOME EVER SEEN IN HISTORY!".
The best the USA is going to get for this would be a Golden comb over dome.
Upvote
11
(13
/
-2)
Smuggling was always the easier route, and Trump's own actions will make that even more so.
- Cuts to / redirection of federal workers. Detecting and stopping smuggling is going to be much harder.
- Tariffs. The profit margin of smuggling is going to skyrocket. That means more smugglers, and bigger bribes offered to customs officials.
Upvote
17
(18
/
-1)
This is Trump we're talking about, it should be called The Comb Over.
Aww. Ninjaed by gmerrick.
Aww. Ninjaed by gmerrick.
Upvote
13
(14
/
-1)
raschumacher
Ars Praetorian
Titanium-gold alloy, of course; Iron Dome Man's suit. The perfect cosplay for Leon Muks.I know, it's pointless, but these things seem to matter for USA's Commander in Chief... a golden armor won't be as protective as an iron one. Gold is too "soft". A titanium dome would've been more inspirational. "THE BEST DOME EVER SEEN IN HISTORY!".
Upvote
3
(4
/
-1)