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From: jlg@lanl.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: A High Tech Maginot Line
Message-ID: <34395@lanl.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 6-Dec-85 14:32:05 EST
Article-I.D.: lanl.34395
Posted: Fri Dec  6 14:32:05 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Dec-85 05:59:05 EST
References: <8512020718.AA15110@s1-b.arpa> <8512031532.AA11191@ucbvax.berkeley.edu> <709@petrus.UUCP>
Reply-To: jlg@a.UUCP (Jim Giles)
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lines: 36

> The US government seems to have a hard time intercepting more than a few
> percent of the illegal drugs smugged into this country.  This is despite the
> fact that the smugglers put relatively "low tech" delivery devices (boats,
> Cessnas, parachutes) up against satellite reconnaissance, F-15's and lots
> of armed agents.  Does anyone seriously think that just throwing money
> at the problem will help? It hasn't done much for the drug trade; an
> AP wire story says that cocaine is as cheap as it's ever been.

Of course, if the objective was simply to destroy all vehicles of the
type used by smugglers, the problem would be comparatively simple.  But
in order to catch drug smugglers in their "low tech" operations, we have
to resort to such "low tech" approaches as direct person-to-person
contact, read their rights, search their vehicle with dogs, etc..  The
DEA, Coast Guard, and other agencies don't have the luxury of saying
"this is war, any vehicle moving through the Caribbean shall be
destroyed." If they did, smuggling would soon cease.  So would all other
commerce and recreation.  The military technology of WW2 would be
sufficient to blockade the Caribbean these days (over the horizon radar
controlled guns for example).

The SDI on the other hand has exactly this luxury.  It will probably be
implemented in such a way that any space-going vehicle that is not part
of SDI would be a target for destruction if a war starts.  This would be
kind of rough on any civilian spacecraft (if SDI works).

The feasibility of SDI is still seriously in question, but the failure
to stop drug smuggling in not a counter-example.  These are two different
tasks with two completely different objectives.

J. Giles
Los Alamos


P.S.
   I don't think this is the right newsgroup for this discussion.
   Net.politics or ar.arms-d would be better.