Terry,
Thanks for the comments
Yes, I want the US Gov't to have kept it's mouth shut until they
accomplished the deed... As you point out it will be a heck of an
accomplishment - which means it is hard, not easy... I feel they have
been spooked by the Chinese, so they feel they have to 'catch up'...
Same reponse to Sputnik in 57.. And if so, the odds are the early
going will be the same results..

This shot is more difficult than the chinese shot because it is a low
altitude, much higher closing velocity with far less time for the
missile to correct its path, a 'relatively' unstable orbital path
much like riding a motorcyle on a rough, dirt road, and thus similar
to shooting ducks passing in front of you on a windy, rainy, day...
Not easy...

Now having said that, I recognize that governments work in mysterious
ways and nothing is as it seems..

It could be that they have already done a covert shot on something and
have a certainty that this one will work... If so it is likely they
are taunting the Chinese by doing this shot so publically, proving
that our technology is still an order of magnitude ahead of theirs...

It could be that this shot is to divert all the earth radars and
satellite sensors into concentrating on this shot, so they will not
notice something else we are doing at the same time...

It could be they are up to something that is beyond my poor
imagination...

Or it could be, they have their heads up their butts like they seem to
do a high percentage of the time - which is what I fear...

Now, as to the next president: Yeah, yeah, yeah, rub it in...

snip of long, eloquent analysis of all the candidates after I
remembered that this is a group post, not private email

sniff, sniif, and it was SO eloquent

denny