Maine’s monolithic defense radar headed for scrapheap

[struggle4progress]

<snip> When operational, it could monitor a massive swath of ocean and warn of a threat 1,700 miles away - leaving plenty of time to scramble U.S. military jets in response. <snip>

The radar in Maine, nestled in the woods in a place that bears little resemblance to the Russian capital for which the nearby town was named, cost $1.5 billion to develop. It was operational for a mere year in the early 1990s before being mothballed in favor of more advanced Navy technology.

The Air Force maintained the ability to restart the radars until late last year, when dismantling of both got under way. <snip>

The Air Force in the months ahead plans to begin shopping the nearly 1,200 acres to industrial clients who could lease the land and benefit from such expansive, unencumbered landscape. <snip>

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Mar/20050306News033.asp

[Trillo]

1. And to think the government used to give land to poor Americans.

My how things have changed!

[fryguy]

2. "offering the expanse of land to industry"

well isn't that nice.... wouldn't want to do something good like return the area to a state of nature for the benefit of future generations when there are business interests to be paid off for their help in the elections....

but seriously, isn't there a regulation that when one department/agency of the government no longer needs property it is first offered to another department or agency? why isn't this being given to interior for park land or something like that? has the rule changed?

[MADem]

3. Yeah, but they aren't SELLING it

They're "leasing" it to industry. That's the first red flag.

That way, if we suddenly need cheap land to build, say, a quick Halliburton/Brown and Root style boot camp (prefab buildings, pre-wired, to a large extent pre-furnished, ready to go in a matter of weeks) to train a vast influx of draftees, or say, a...prison, no, a "CAMP" (sounds so much more cheery), to detain "suspicious" types, in the interest of national security, of course...we've got a load of "unencumbered rural property" far from the conveniences of a town or urban center, far from the prying eyes of what little is left of the American press, easy to monitor ingress and egress, all the bells and whistles of more traditional training or detention centers, but without the annoying issues of accountability, visibility or even AWARNESS on the part of the neighbors--since there ARE no neighbors!

It will be interesting to see what sorts of "industries" take advantage of this swell offer. Why do I have a feeling that they will be affiliated with the defense establishment in some form or another, and will already have their lackeys ensconced in K Street, good little GOP lobbyist robots, already working the angles?

But maybe I am just one of those unpatriotic cynics! Yeah, that must be it--I guess I need to start wearing a flag pin and stop asking questions!

[ConcernedCanuk]

4. With all the paranoia about missile attacks, why close ANY radar

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.
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stations down?

From the article:

"The backscatter radar in Maine and a similar system reaching out into the Pacific from Oregon could bounce a beam off the ionosphere, which sent a scattered detection signal back to the Earth’s surface. The systems were so sensitive, they could note changes in ocean currents."

/snip/

John Pike, a military expert with globalsecurity.org, said he’s puzzled by the decision to dismantle the backscatter radar at a time when nuclear proliferation remains a concern and countries such as Iran and North Korea are developing long-range nuclear warheads.

"North Korea’s missiles may or may not be able to get to the United States if they were launched from North Korea. But they could if they were launched by tramp steamers 1,000 miles off the coast," he said. "Korean cargo ships, each with one missile and one atomic bomb, would blend into the traffic."
__________________________________________________

Or are the PNACers setting up the East Coast as "bait"??

OH - I GET IT NOW

Us Canuks just agreed to warn the US about "incoming"

all is well . . .

:dunce: