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From: al@ames.UUCP (Al Globus)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Star Wars, Computers and Doomsday Machines
Message-ID: <1305@ames.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Dec-85 21:20:24 EST
Article-I.D.: ames.1305
Posted: Mon Dec 30 21:20:24 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 2-Jan-86 19:48:10 EST
References: <343@whuts.UUCP> <7800666@inmet.UUCP> <797@whuxl.UUCP> <798@whuxl.UUCP>
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 16

> Even Star Wars advocates admit that it cannot
> stop 100% of attacking nuclear weapons but only 90%.

It's hard to tell, but recent Aviation Week and Space Technology articles
seem to indicate that a 95% effective defense is considered 'totally
effective' by the SDI program office.  This, of course, could leave
tens of millions of Americans very dead in the first few hours of a
conflict.

>  
> What I find more frightening is the issue that is *never* mentioned-
> at least not in the general press: namely that in order to work
> Star Wars planners themselves admit that it must be an *automatic
> system* totally under the control of computers.  

No one will push the button, the button will push itself.