One of the main rebuttals against the "rogue state" argument for a missile-defense system is that no nation would be stupid enough to launch a nuclear attack with "a return address" on it - instead, they would choose more surreptitious methods, like sneaking a bomb into one of our harbors on a boat, or using biological or chemical warfare.
As if those methods don't have a "return address" on them either. The events of the last several weeks have shown that not only does America have enemies who hate us enough to try weapons of mass destruction, they're stupid enough to poke the sleeping dragon ineffectively. By that, I mean the recent spate of anthrax deliveries in our political and media centers, which are looking more and more like state-sponsored terrorism.
It is no secret who is behind this, and it is no secret that we will convert the perpetrators into a fine aerosol mist, wrap what remains in pig entrails, and bury the package in a pile of dung. While they may have succeeded - temporarily - at making us a little nervous, they have guaranteed that the only superpower on Earth will forever oppose their cause. We have enlisted the rest of the civilized world to turn over every rock until every last parasite has been found and crushed. Far from becoming less involved in the Middle East, mainstream America now understands it must watch the region with constant vigilance and be more involved than ever in regional politics. Whatever their goals in poking the sleeping dragon, they have accomplished exactly the opposite.
So we can conclude this... our enemies are ruthless, and strategically challenged. They are backed by rogue nations. If they had nuclear weapons, missiles or not, they would have used them. This is exactly why we must seek to develop a scientifically - or psychological - sound missile defense system. We cannot afford vulnerability any longer.
Posted by wasylik at October 18, 2001 12:31 PM