2. US Views of Missile Defense
The Arms Trade Research Center published an online report describing problems with the development of a US missile defense system. New York Times science writer William Broad revealed that Nira Schwartz, a senior research scientist at TRW, had filed suit against TRW alleging that she had been fired for refusing to falsify basic research findings on the essential question of whether an NMD interceptor can tell the difference between a decoy and a nuclear warhead. The article examines the role of several companies in the testing process, including Raytheon, Boeing, TRW, and Lockheed Martin. The article also includes public media sources for some of the material.
"Nuclear Missile Deception: Corruption and Conflicts of Interest in the National Missile Defense (NMD) Test Program"
Author Frances Fitzgerald spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about her new book, "Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold War." She said that US desires to build a missile defense reflects a US belief in its own invulnerability that Europeans do not share.
"Frances Fitzgerald on the National Mythology of Missile Defense"
US Senators Jon Kyl, Carl Levin and Joseph Biden spoke on June 27 at the Symposium on National Missile Defense sponsored by the Jean and Samuel Zacher Foundation and the Cato Foundation regarding the merits and demerits of deploying a national missile defense.
"Remarks of Senators Jon Kyl, Carl Levin and Joseph Biden on National Missile Defense"
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) on July 6 released a letter to US President Bill Clinton signed by 50 US Nobel laureates in the sciences stating that under current circumstances, "any movement toward deployment" of a ballistic missile defense system would be "premature, wasteful, and dangerous." The letter said, "We urge the President not to make any move toward deployment before carefully considering technical and diplomatic alternatives."
"Nobel Laureates Warn Against Missile Defense Deployment"
In an editorial carried by the Christian Science Monitor, Daniel Schorr argued that the recent failure of the national missile defense system was a blessing because if it had been a success there first would have been a debate as to whether the test was rigged to be overly simple, and then President Clinton would have been under congressional pressure to take the first steps toward deployment. He argued that continuing repercussions would include fear by US allies of the end of the deterrent protecting them and the PRC and Russia threatening a new arms race. [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news service for July 14, 2000.]
"Missile Failure Bodes Success"
An editorial in Business Week argued that the recent failure of the national missile defense system is a blessing and the US should use the opportunity to terminate a program when talk about its deployment before it is ready is internationally destabilizing. With the threat posed by some states, a missile defense system may be needed in the future, and research and testing should continue, but the US should assess the diplomatic damage being done. [Ed. note: This article was included in the US Department of Defense's Early Bird news service for July 13, 2000.]
"A Misguided Missile Policy"