Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site aplvax.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!rlgvax!cvl!umcp-cs!aplvax!eric
From: eric@aplvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: jrc's comments...
Message-ID: <309@aplvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Sep-83 15:30:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: aplvax.309
Posted: Thu Sep  8 15:30:41 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Sep-83 21:31:32 EDT
References: <518@ritcv.UUCP> <2490@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: JHU/Applied Physics Lab, Laurel, MD
Lines: 19


	Yes, the Soviets with their equipment (its not that out-moded)
could tell the difference between a 747 and a military jet. They
certainly could with visual contact, and I would be astonished if they
could not from the ground.

	No, the US would not shoot down a commercial flight that
cruised around Alaska for a couple of hours (this is not exactly
what happened to KAL 007, but we will assume for now that it is).
Aeroflot flights for some time wandered out of their flight plans
when they were still allowed to fly over the US continent, and we
never shot any of them down. We did restrict them from flying over
our airspace, but I seriously doubt that if one violated this restriction
that we would blow them to bits. I don't want to sound too hawkish, but
the government and military of the US and the Soviets are different, they
do not react the same. And this time, they were wrong.

					eric
					...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!eric