comma with 'as soon as possible': deploy, as soon as... possible, an

T

The Lord of Gluttony

Senior Member
Earth
Turkish
Hello,

Do you think the sentence below needs commas as I put in bold and red? :confused: The original sentence does not have commas

It is the policy of the United States to deploy, as soon as is technologically possible, an effective National Missile Defense system capable of defending the territory of the United States against limited ballistic missile attack (whether accidental, unauthorized, or deliberate) with funding subject to the annual authorization of appropriations and the annual appropriation of funds for National Missile Defense.
http://www.mda.mil/system/system.html

Thanks
 
    • I find the commas unnecessary - in fact they interrupt the flow of reading. Let's see what others think.
     
    Ha! I would keep them for ease of reading.

    You now have three opinions. The conclusion is therefore that they are optional - as JustKate said.
     
    ...and of course there is the opinion of those who drew up and proof-read the National Missile Defense Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-38) of which this is a part.
     
    I wouldn't only add the two you've added, Lord ~ I'd add another after deliberate). The sentence is virtually unreadable without them. Don't the people who draft these things ever breathe?
     
    Let's throw another opinion into the pot. The commas must be taken out; the absence of commas is necessary to the sentence.

    I think that "as soon as..." is a vital part of the sentence, not additional information. Part of the policy is that this system be deployed as early as possible.

    (And I normally argue for including as many commas as possible!)
     
    lucas-sp said:
    Let's throw another opinion into the pot. The commas must be taken out; the absence of commas is necessary to the sentence.

    I think that "as soon as..." is a vital part of the sentence, not additional information. Part of the policy is that this system be deployed as early as possible.

    (And I normally argue for including as many commas as possible!)
    Click to expand...
    I agree for the same reasons and I am all for commas when they improve clarity. We see some dreadful and almost incomprehensible sentences on this forum but this isn't one of them. (in my opinion)
     
    Well, this still might be a "dreadful and [functionally] incomprehensible sentence" - or at least it's just extremely hard to read - but it might also be the best sentence possible in its context!

    Laws aren't really designed for ease of reading; instead they aim for a kind of absolute explicitness that gets very wordy. Commas might help us read the sentence, but it might dilute its explicitness.
     
    lucas-sp said:
    Let's throw another opinion into the pot. The commas must be taken out; the absence of commas is necessary to the sentence.
    Click to expand...
    Absolutely not - the phrase is all but parenthetical - you could place it at the start, after "Missile Defense system", or omit it.
     
    Without the commas, there can be no emphasis on the phrase, and this is the political propaganda of the entire piece. ("I realise that you know that speed is of the essence and I am the man that can do it!")

    Commas not only punctuate, they show the (dramatic) pauses.
     
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