Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Keep In Perspective
I noticed that ABC News was trumpeting the Pentagons "successful" test of the missle defense system. Naturally, they devoted all of about 15 seconds to the story and provided zero context. All viewers heard was that it was a "successful test".

Knowing the track record of this program, and knowing the credibility of the Pentagon these days, I was of course suspicious. Turns out I was right:
Yesterday, a "missile" (WP) or a "rocket" (NYT) launched from California knocked out a missile launched from Alaska. The invading missile was a simplified simulation of a North Korean warhead that lacked even the most basic countermeasures. The NYT and LAT flag the Air Force general in charge of the test saying, "What we are trying to do [with the tests] is under-promise and over-deliver."
Of course it was successful. If you lower expectations enough, anything can be successful. I won't go into all the details of just how "simplified" the test was. Let's just say that it wasn't really much of a test.
Written at 11:40 AM by Greyhair.
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