Intelligence Failures

[dbermanmd]

Please name one time where American intelligence agencies were able to pinpoint the development of WMD's. Feel free to go back to the beginning of WMD's - 1940's and move forward until today.

[efusco]

Not sure what "pin point" means, but we sure knew a lot about the nukes of cold-war Soviet Union.

[dbermanmd]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 12 2006, 12:08 PM) [snapback]318370[/snapback]</div>

Not sure what "pin point" means, but we sure knew a lot about the nukes of cold-war Soviet Union.
[/b]

Did we? Were we able to predict when they would become a nuclear power?

[efusco]

Hell I don't know if we knew exactly 'when'...and when, exactly is one considered a Nuclear power...when you've test launched a nuclear missile, when you have a power plant and are capable of refining nuclear fuel?

As I recall there was little mystery about it, but this was mostly before my time.

[dbermanmd]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 12 2006, 12:33 PM) [snapback]318400[/snapback]</div>

Hell I don't know if we knew exactly 'when'...and when, exactly is one considered a Nuclear power...when you've test launched a nuclear missile, when you have a power plant and are capable of refining nuclear fuel?

As I recall there was little mystery about it, but this was mostly before my time.
[/b]

Real simple - when you explode a nuclear device you are a nuclear power - especially back then.

Did our intelligence agencies pinpoint or even come close to identifying when that event was going to take place with the soviets? Then the next part of the question - did our intelligence agencies pinpoint that same event ever again with other countries?

[jayman]

Under great urgency, the United States took a supposedly "scientific" program called "Discoverer" and retasked it to the spy satellite "Corona."

Dr Land - the inventer of the Polaroid "Land" camera - took the work of Dr Walter Levison (The optics genius at Itek) and convinced the CIA's Bissel to utilize the camera payload system as an orbital spy satellite. It actually worked wonderfully, but proved all the claims of the "missile gap" were unfounded. The "bomber gap" was equally false; if anything, the former USSR had the "gap," and a pretty dramatic one too.

The "Gaither Report" was blatently false, and Eisenhower knew it, but other elements instead pushed ahead a dramatic escalation of the Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower so feared

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2006/3311...n_kiracofe.html

[efusco]

Actually we did 'pinpoint' India as they became a nuclear powers. Pakistan was more covert.

Anyway, is this just a question of curiosity because you don't know the answer and are too lazy to look it up or are you trying to bait some arguement?

If the latter why not just cut to the chase. Just realize that if you start making noise about Iran (as you're want to do) my first question will be about the more immediate and real risk posed by N. Korea.

[KMO]

All of which pales into insignificance compared to the threat posed by the USA; the only country I suspect of being stupid enough to actually use a nuke at the moment, as I suspect its leaders think they could get away with it.

[dbermanmd]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Sep 12 2006, 12:41 PM) [snapback]318412[/snapback]</div>

Under great urgency, the United States took a supposedly "scientific" program called "Discoverer" and retasked it to the spy satellite "Corona."

Dr Land - the inventer of the Polaroid "Land" camera - took the work of Dr Walter Levison (The optics genius at Itek) and convinced the CIA's Bissel to utilize the camera payload system as an orbital spy satellite. It actually worked wonderfully, but proved all the claims of the "missile gap" were unfounded. The "bomber gap" was equally false; if anything, the former USSR had the "gap," and a pretty dramatic one too.

The "Gaither Report" was blatently false, and Eisenhower knew it, but other elements instead pushed ahead a dramatic escalation of the Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower so feared

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2006/3311...n_kiracofe.html
[/b]

I did not catch an answer to my post...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 12 2006, 12:48 PM) [snapback]318417[/snapback]</div>

Actually we did 'pinpoint' India as they became a nuclear powers. Pakistan was more covert.

Anyway, is this just a question of curiosity because you don't know the answer and are too lazy to look it up or are you trying to bait some arguement?

If the latter why not just cut to the chase. Just realize that if you start making noise about Iran (as you're want to do) my first question will be about the more immediate and real risk posed by N. Korea.
[/b]

Actually India got by us too. Just looking for one time US intelligence sources pinpointed when a country was about to become a nuclear power.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KMO @ Sep 12 2006, 12:57 PM) [snapback]318428[/snapback]</div>

All of which pales into insignificance compared to the threat posed by the USA; the only country I suspect of being stupid enough to actually use a nuke at the moment, as I suspect its leaders think they could get away with it.
[/b]

You are right, we even fooled our own intelligence agencies. Gold Star for you.

[jayman]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Sep 12 2006, 12:31 PM) [snapback]318453[/snapback]</div>

I did not catch an answer to my post...
[/b]

I guess the only answer you'll understand: the intelligence "geniuses" were just as deranged as you are.