Missile defence systems and the politics of fear

I’ve been stewing on this for a week or two now, and reading Phillip Adams’ piece in the Oz at the weekend, In Fear We Should Trust, it has reminded me just how Orwellian the world has become post-September 11. Gary Sauer-Thompson’s analysis of the Australian Government’s decision to invest several billion dollars of tax payers’ money on a missile defence system, Boys and Their Toys, provides evidence of this. Just exactly who are these missiles going to be pointing at? Leunig’s cartoon (also located at Gary’s blog) sums it up rather nicely. Another article on the topic – a personal favourite – is located here.