This post is in response to an article by Simone Wilson, of the LA Weekly Blog. Most of this post is also located in the comment section of that story.
Simone Wilson made her article stand out. I think it's pretty funny! Imagine that? An Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) taking out a Cessna? THAT'D BE PRICELESS. But I digress...
As far as former Deputy Secretary of Defense, and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO - Robert Fred Ellsworth goes, there are so many re-quotes from him that it's funny. Just because he has credentials as a former Deputy Secretary of Defense, people think he's a person of authority. In my OPINION -no disrespect to him, his service, or the office he once held in antiquity, but his comments come from a time when sea launched missiles were viewed by Nation States were like, 'OMFG! This is crazy, how are we going to counter this new threat to the country!!!!' -news. I believe that's why he takes this stance, from his experience in office. Also, in his defense, he stated in one of the articles that his idea of it being an American test firing, is PURELY a guess, a hypothesis, and to not give it that much weight. (So, to me - he's off the hook!)
What I do have a problem with, is all the "journalists" that have aggregated his comments. Any Nation State -even those with the most minute intelligence operation, any normal person that has ever watched ANYTHING (in ad nauseum) on the Discovery Channel regarding military affairs, and hell -anyone that has ever seen those old grainy barely-a-step-above-black & white movies- would know that American naval vessels have had the ability to launch a plethora of sea launched munitions for quite some time!
I say this because, this perceived saber rattling, or demonstrating military might for the sake of a deterrent, or to 'send a message' is just ridiculous to me. President Obama is in India, a major country of influence. A country with a sizable defense budget. A country that would know we could lob ICBMs from anywhere we wanted to. So, for us to launch a missile as a show of force, is ridiculous. Even China would know we've had this ability for decades.
Now...China, and the US using Anti-Satellite weapons? That's a different story.
Hey, if I'm wrong about this mysterious missile, then I'm wrong. This is only my opinion gleaned from the current information I have viewed on the web. Input is welcome.
Besides, it was probably an optical illusion of an aircraft, contrail or maybe a UFO. :)
-Jack
