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SON OF STAR WARS

Let’s go all the way back to when Ronald Reagan was President of the United States. And as part of his Cold War battle with what he called “ The Evil Empire” – the Soviet Union.

His Pentagon boffins came up with a multi-billion dollar Outer Space missile umbrella system that was promptly dubbed Star Wars.

It seemed to be finally put back in the box but some American Defence planners still hankered for it.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union no US president could talk about “ the evil Empire” any more.

But the current leader, George W. Bush came up with the “ axis of evil”.

And since September 11, and the extended range of Saddam Hussein’s missiles, and the threats and test-firings coming from North Korea, strategic missile defence is again very much on the agenda.

Enter Son of Star Wars. And it is in the news today because Australia is considering signing up with the American programme to protect this country from any terrorist missile attack or an attack from a rogue state like North Korea.

I can’t believe I am agreeing with John Howard on yet another contentious issue but I saw him in a television interview today making a plausible and justifiable case for what in diplomatic language is called “close dialogue” with the US over the embryonic system.

Defence Minister Robert Hill flagged just that in his latest Defence Update this week and he made the not exaggerated point that:

“ We have to accept that in some circumstances diplomacy might fail and there is the potential longer-term possibility that Australia could be threatened by a ballistic missile perhaps with a nuclear warhead”.

That would have sounded far-fetched before September 11 and Bali. Not any more and I am puzzled that Simon Crean and the Opposition’s increasingly anti-American stance even opposes talks about Son of Star Wars.

Thursday, February 27, 2003

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2002