this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024
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You make it sound like the military advancements were an unexpected byproduct, as opposed to the real goal.
The goal was optics. Kennedy didn't know what advances would result from Apollo. He wanted to show that the US was better at science and technology than Russia.
The science of putting a ballistic payload anywhere, including heaven.
The space race was awesome because it let the two countries measure their dicks (specifically their military dicks) without actually obliterating the planet.
The "for all mankind" angle was a great way to frame things for the population of Earth, for sure. But just like mobile chemical WMD labs in Iraq, sometimes the given justification and actual justification are two different things.
Don't get me wrong, there absolutely were beneficial optics. Something doesn't have to just be for one thing. But it was always primarily about practical demonstration of weapons capacity under the facade of human exploration.
The dick measuring is what I was referring to by "optics".
My B!
I don't disagree, but has anyone found corroborating evidence or documentation, past speculation and reasonable assumption?
No, I don't think anyone has definitely proven that George W Bush and Colin Powell KNEW that the WMD claims in Iraq were bullshit when they were presenting them as the primary justification for the war.
It's just the nature of the beast.
Ha, I was actually taking about the space program, but same for the invasion. Although, I feel like more people have come forward about the invasion being BS than early space program stuff.