From: grob@opera.chorus.fr (Lori Grob)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.super
Subject: Re: Fujitsu and America
Keywords: Supercomputer, parallel processing, foreign
Date: 20 Aug 92 09:46:04 GMT
Reply-To: grob@chorus.fr
Distribution: comp.sys.super
Organization: Chorus systemes, 6 av. Gustave Eiffel, 78182 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France

In article <1992Jul29.181851.12025@news.eng.convex.com>, jgardner@convex.com (John B. Gardner) writes:
%% This probably belongs in a .politics newsgroup, but since it involves super
%% computing and started here, I'm puting it here...
%% 
%
%% 
%% 
%% Hold on a minute.  As easy as it would be for me to do flag waving about
%% American jobs and so forth (which I believe in), I believe there's a logical 
%% reason for the U.S. government to mandate U.S. manufactured supercomputers
%% for many installations.
%% 
%% Namely this;  A very large number of supercomputers purchased by the govt.
%% are for military or security operations (note, I don't *know* this, but I'd
%% say it's a pretty safe bet).  Relying on a foreign power for support, parts,
%% maintenance, etc. of a component that would be critical in wartime would be
%% extremely dangerous.
%% 
%% Now i hardly expect we will ever go to war with Japan, but lines of 
%% comunication and shipping capabilities could be seriously hampered if we
%% were at war with _anyone_.
%% 
%% Imagine if the JEWC operations center, which was of critical importance
%% during "Desert Storm" had as its main computer equipment developed, built,
%% and maintained from Iraq.  Get the picture?  We (the U.S.), were in fact
%% aided in our war effort by U.S. computer parts (printers) which had been
%% shipped to Iraq and covertly modified for just such an occurence.
%% 
%% Yes, I work for a U.S. manufacturer of supercomputers, so my opinion is no
%% doubt biased, but the above arguement still has merit, IMHO.
%% 
%% jgardner
%% -- 
%%    /\ /_  _    jgardner@convex.com
%%    \//_//_/
%%    /     /     "Poor is the man whose pleasures depend
%%   /    \/       on the permission of another" -Madonna

I agree that there are  alot of nation security arguments for
essential things being manufactured within one's own country.
There is alot of good point to these things, however it is 
these same arguments that every country applies to things like,
farm products, energy etc.

It is not only in high security installations that you cannot
put a foreign built supercomputer, it is also not easy in
a research lab if you have gov't funding. Once again I am not
arguing with that.

However the example about desert storm is specious since,
it was a coalition operation, as you may remember and one
place we did solicit troops from, although
they didn't get them, was Japan. At the moment Iraq doesn't
manufacture computers, Europe and Asia do. According to your
relying on a foreign power arguement, either all coalitions
will just have to agree in advance that only US manufactured
goods will do for support, maintanence, etc or each country
will use their own (probably incompatable) equipment and support,
etc which is not very efficient.

My opinion is also, no doubt biased as I work for a french
software house. And although I think that the previous poster's
example has merit in the case of say, the US and country X,
desert storm and coalition operations  are not such a great
example. 


-- 
L.S. Grob
Chorus syste`mes			phone +33-1-30-64-82-17
6 avenue Gustave Eiffel			fax   +33-1-30-57-00-66	
F78182 Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines	email grob@chorus.fr	
FRANCE					      grob%chorus.fr.uunet.uu.net
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.super