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[Guardian G.I.]

The USSR really was the greatest, wisest Union. Rather than just laughing at Reagan and spending more money on improving public services in Central Asia/Far East/Caucasus, or even just making some more tights/stockings/cigarettes/whatever people wanted in the managed economy, they decide to spend god knows how much on a laser pistol to allow cosmonauts to shoot pesky American agents in space.

Yeah, because the totally peace-loving and totally not unified Western countries have never ever planned any offensive military action against the Soviet Union... It was just paranoia stirred up by tyrants in the Kremlin, duh.

[10ebbor10]

There were warplans on both sides of the conflict. Truly, there was a not insignificant chance that we'd wipe ourselves of the planet.

[Owlbread]

Yeah, because the totally peace-loving and totally not unified Western countries have never ever planned any offensive military action against the Soviet Union... It was just paranoia stirred up by tyrants in the Kremlin, duh.

Guardian, I'm not criticising the USSR for spending money on defence. The USSR was under great threat, I agree and haven't said otherwise. In spite of that though even you must agree that it was silly to spend money on that laser pistol? To allow for wars in space?

I've often thought though that if the USSR got rid of all its weapons/troops, then declared that not only was militarism wrong, but it should be forbidden in the Soviet Union then maybe it would have gained more international sympathy. You know, just raise a big white flag at the USA and say that fighting is no longer necessary, all that matters is that the quality of life for Soviet people should be improved. I wonder if that would have changed things. The USA and the West holding a gun to the head of a pacifist, welfare-conscious nation would be a very different PR situation indeed.

[LordSlowpoke]

to understand laser pistols you must understand that america already put lasers in space in order to murderize soviet second strike capability

they had to put their own lasers in there to kill american lasers so they wouldn't be screwed ror

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It's standard practice to draw up war plans for every possible hypothetical situation. I have little doubt that Canada and Mexico both have "how to keep the US from curbstomping us" plans locked up in some government archive, even though there is no realistic chance of it being used.

[Owlbread]

to understand laser pistols you must understand that america already put lasers in space in order to murderize soviet second strike capability

they had to put their own lasers in there to kill american lasers so they wouldn't be screwed ror

Hence why I said "rather than just laughing at Reagan".

[USEC_OFFICER]

It's standard practice to draw up war plans for every possible hypothetical situation. I have little doubt that Canada and Mexico both have "how to keep the US from curbstomping us" plans locked up in some government archive, even though there is no realistic chance of it being used.

Indeed, we did. I believe that it involved bicycle troops and waiting for the British to come and bail our asses out. If you can't tell, it was made sometime during the 1930s...

[10ebbor10]

Well, the Soviet laser system was a precursor/offshoot/tangentially related to their other laser initiatives. I mean, they also developed the technology for an orbital anti satellite laser, which would have been very useful indeed.

Also, I'm pretty sure that this laser pistol comes from the "We're going for manned spy satellites" part of Russian space history. Another point is that during the entire cold War, the USSR had to catch up with the USA. They started with very little, and got some astonishing results, after all. On a side note, the pacifist approach won't work. The US would continue it's policy of finding USSR client states, supporting a revolution, then invade/liberate. 

[jimboo]

“Curbstomping” – that’s a word that doesn’t get used very often.  It reminded me of this scene from the television series The West Wing, episode A Good Day (2005):

Kate Harper: [to the Canadian Ambassador] Ambassador, listen carefully. An hour ago, I reviewed the United States contingency plan to invade your country.
Will Bailey:  There's a contingency plan...
Kate Harper: [Interrupting Will] 1789, amended in 1815. The calligraphy is beautiful. And if one more deal is floated in this room, I'm gonna ask DoD to reactive it.

[Sheb]

Actually in the 1950's, there was an attempt at overture to the US by Krutshev, but it was mostly turned down.

[Owlbread]

Well, the Soviet laser system was a precursor/offshoot/tangentially related to their other laser initiatives. I mean, they also developed the technology for an orbital anti satellite laser, which would have been very useful indeed.

Also, I'm pretty sure that this laser pistol comes from the "We're going for manned spy satellites" part of Russian space history. Another point is that during the entire cold War, the USSR had to catch up with the USA. They started with very little, and got some astonishing results, after all. On a side note, the pacifist approach won't work. The US would continue it's policy of finding USSR client states, supporting a revolution, then invade/liberate.

If the states were truly democratic there would be no good reason to "liberate". That doesn't mean it would stop the USA or Britain, we know this. Basically all the problems with Iran today can be traced back to the fall of Mosaddegh orchestrated by the CIA/MI6, same with Chile in the early '70s, but people aren't aware of those things because nobody really cared about those countries outside of certain circles. If things started going along those lines in, say, Hungary or Poland and then later the various SSRs, the USSR may have had a more legitimate case that people across the world would have listened to.

[10ebbor10]

Well, there would be several good reasons. They would be pretty hypocritical and self-serving, but still, those are good reasons.

[Guardian G.I.]

Well, the Soviet laser system was a precursor/offshoot/tangentially related to their other laser initiatives. I mean, they also developed the technology for an orbital anti satellite laser, which would have been very useful indeed.

Also, I'm pretty sure that this laser pistol comes from the "We're going for manned spy satellites" part of Russian space history. Another point is that during the entire cold War, the USSR had to catch up with the USA. They started with very little, and got some astonishing results, after all. On a side note, the pacifist approach won't work. The US would continue it's policy of finding USSR client states, supporting a revolution, then invade/liberate.

Exactly. The USSR couldn't just do nothing and see how the Americans are encroaching at their borders.

Also, a very important part of Soviet (and Russian) military strategy is that the enemy should not be able to easily destroy Soviet/Russian nuclear weapons. It was assumed by the Soviets and it is assumed by Russia that its nuclear weapons are the only thing that deters the United States from attacking them, and if the USA will be absolutely sure that the Soviet Union/Russia will not retaliate with nuclear weapons, then it will strike first. Thus, the development of anti-satellite weapons was started to counter the SDI program, the Perimeter system was created to ensure that retaliatory strike would be launched even if the top military commanders get destroyed by an American decapitation strike, etc.
Russia today is against the deployment of American ABM systems in Central and Eastern Europe for the same reason.

[10ebbor10]

It's also the same reason that the shelved the development of that Nuclear Ramjet mentioned earlier. A ramjet missile is much harder to intercept, much harder to detect, and can be launched pre-emptively (after all, it can remain in flight for several months), and could deliver up to 16 nuclear warheads. The SLAM missile flew under the radar, allowing a first strike without anyone noticing. Well, not before the bombs went off , anyway.

Also, if they started development of the SLAM, then the USSR would as well, and there was no known effective system to intercept these types of warheads.

[Descan]

Sometimes I wish the cold war was actually about "Who's economic system is better?" rather than "Who has more metallic penises that explode in huge fireballs than the other?"

And they spent all that military funding on infrastructure and their economies and civilian-oriented research...

Bluh.