Re: Detection

>Has it occured to anyone what the logical consequences of a
universe
>where most ships can sneak up on a planet are?  I discussed
this with
>Laserlight, and he accused me of recently reading a good bit of
>Pournelle.

Observation, not accusation.  The logic is laid out in Larry
Niven's N-Space, IIRC.

>Logically, if ships are difficult to detect then they can get
close to
>their targets easily.

  Not necessarily.  They could be difficult for ships to detect,
but much easier for satellites to detect (multiple platforms for
a long baseline, wide aperature, not built to undergo high gee
thrust).   The raiders wouldn't be able to detect ships on a
regular basis except close to a planet (where shipping routes
merge), so you could park your navy close to the planet and
defend shipping.  I personally like that model better than the
"they're in the system, so we can see them" model.
  Now, in a war situation, the raider could do a high velocity
strike, but that yields you no booty and may have political
consequences.