DATE=7/7/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON - ANTI-MISSILE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-264172
BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: With just hours to go before the latest trial
of a U-S national missile defense before President
Clinton decides whether to build such a system, U-S
officials say they do not expect an assessment of the
test for weeks. They also caution that the test's
outcome will not be the deciding factor in whether
to build the missile shield. Correspondent Deborah
Tate reports from the White House.
Text: With America's European allies, Russia and
China vehemently opposed to the proposed U-S national
missile defense system, fearing it would undermine
arms control and spark an arms race, administration
officials are playing down expectations for the
upcoming anti-missile test.
P-J Crowley is a spokesman for the National Security
Council:
/// Crowley Act ///
A hit does not automatically suggest success,
nor does failure automatically come with a miss.
/// End Act ///
The U-S military is planning late Friday or early
Saturday to launch a land-based anti-missile rocket
from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean and
guide it through space using computers, radar and
early-warning satellites in hopes of destroying a
dummy missile fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base in
California.
Mr. Crowley says an assessment could take weeks.
/// Crowley Opt Act ///
There are a lot of elements to a national
missile defense, including both the ability to
detect it, command, control and communications,
the kill vehicle, the decision-making process
that allows you to effectively engage an
incoming missile and potentially destroy it. So
this is a very complex test, complex process, so
it will take some time for the Pentagon to
assess the results of the test that will feed
into Secretary Cohen's recommendation to the
President once the Pentagon finishes deploy-
readiness review. So this will be a process
that will unfold over the next several weeks at
a minimum.
/// End Opt Act ///
It will be the third such anti-missile test. The
first one last year succeeded, but the second one back
in January failed after a gas leak caused the
interceptor to veer off course.
The United States, which wants to amend the 1972 Anti-
Ballistic Missile Treaty to allow for the missile
shield, believes the system could protect all 50
states from possible missile attack by North Korea,
Iran or Iraq.
But some critics say the technology is not feasible.
Others are concerned about the impact the project
could have on international arms control.
On Thursday, 50 U-S Nobel Prize winners sent Mr.
Clinton a letter warning against deployment of the
system, saying it would offer little protection and
hurt U-S security interests.
On Friday, Russia's strategic nuclear missile forces
commander, Vladimir Yakovlev, reiterated his country's
concerns, warning that a U-S anti-missile system could
prompt some countries to abandon existing arms control
treaties.
N-S-C spokesman Crowley says Mr. Clinton will take
such concerns into consideration in making his
decision.
/// Crowley Act ///
The president will make his best judgment later
this year based on his advisors providing him
the best possible perspective regarding threat,
cost, technical feasibility and the overall
impact on our national security.
/// End Act ///
Mr. Crowley would not comment on when the President
would make his decision, including whether he would
wait until after November's presidential election to
so. (Signed)
NEB/DAT/ENE/JP
07-Jul-2000 14:09 PM EDT (07-Jul-2000 1809 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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