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From: al@ames.UUCP (Al Globus)
Newsgroups: net.physics,net.space,net.research
Subject: Re: Star-Wars/Space Telescopes
Message-ID: <1273@ames.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Dec-85 21:11:10 EST
Article-I.D.: ames.1273
Posted: Thu Dec  5 21:11:10 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Dec-85 17:12:58 EST
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Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
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> My own personal information 
> is that the Russian program was in progress at least as far back
> as 1976.  I suspect the Russians have made a monumental discovery
> and are not willing to share it with us, and if I am correct as
> to what is is, I don't blame them because in a few more years it
> will give them a massive military edge.

I lost count of the number of secret Soviet military programs making
monumental distcoveries that would give the Soviet military a massive
military edge in a few years that I've heard about in the last 20 years.
Maybe its true, but its beginning to sound like crying wolf to me.

  I also think the concept 
> of their program is considerably more aggressive (offensive) than 
> ours.

According to Aviation Week and Space Technology last spring the Soviet
military budget is approximately 70% for home defense.  The U.S.
budget for defense of the U.S. is approximately 3% of our military
funding.  There are good reasons for this.  We haven't been
invaded since the war of 1812.  The Soviets have suffer two major
and several smaller invasions this century.  We have no hostile boarders.
They have thousands of miles of hostile boarders.  Let's move to this
net.politics.