Well, you are starting to catch on..... they are NOT our allies, and NEVER have been. Don't think that when I say top contenders I mean "friends"...
When did you ever say top contenders?
Folks.... this ONE issue could bring the entire WORLD together!!!
Sounds like someone is looking for friends here.
The world, more than ever, needs some focus. This is the perfect thing to focus on....the Moon. While that focus is maintained.... the global bickering will seem petty in comparison.
Russia...we NEED you.
China...we NEED you
EU....we NEED you.
Middle east ...we NEED you.
India/Pakistan...we NEED you.
S. Korea....we NEED you.
Africa...we NEED you.
We all NEED each other to accomplish this leap into the FUTURE.,...
...
North Korea.... we don't need you...pound sand..
So, "...we NEED you" (not as friends?)refers to a need of control

As in,.... We NEED you behind our ideas.
You might as well have said "...We NEED to control you".
Or you propose a
race to the Moon will somehow solidify tainted relationships in a positive manner?
That's illogical by all means. and I'd love for you to show me a model where a race brings the top oppositions into a more friendlier state.
You know, the future of space travel will come from the ISS.
That's what it's for! It's the biggest most expensive thing we humans have ever built.
The President has insured it wasn't all for nothing and in fact solidified our presence in space.
Think for a moment of the design possibilities of spacecraft built in space......
And The President has insured that it will still be properly funded, regardless of Bush's plan to
de-orbit just 4 years after it is proposed to be completed in 2011. That's quite mad considering talks that it will be usable around 2028. And the fact that more pieces are being put on there constantly.
In fact, Bush's policy of ending the ISS has led Russia to form a backup plan without us!
China has stated that it wants to cooperate with the USA in space.
In fact they tried to get on-board with the 16 other nations on the ISS. This was back in 2007.
But, the Bush Administration stated it wasn't going to let Communists into space.
