#52 July/August 2001
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
Home  |  Subscribe |  Back Issues |  The Organization |  Volunteer |  Do Something Directory 

Regulars

Reader Mail

Envirowatch

Rad Videos

MediaBeat

Nature Doc

Reel Underground

Features

Dopey Decision
Supreme Court overrules medical and public opinion
by Sean Carter, contributor

Feds Kill Buffalo, Terrorize Bald Eagles
opinion by Buffalo Folks, contributors

Gandhista Holds City of Seattle Accountable
Injury lawsuit makes progress in wake of WTO crackdown
personal account by Swaneagle Harijan

Gene Giants Get Nasty
Flaws in genetic engineering are exposed
opinion by Ronnie Cummins, contributor

Women Demonstrate Against Dow
An ounce of prevention beats a pound of dioxin

Protest Frankentrees in Portland
by the GE-Tree Conference

Immigrants: ‘Them’ Is ‘Us’
opinion by Domenico Maceri, contributor

Unions, Immigrants Need Each Other
story and photos by David Bacon, contributor

Water Treatment
Sanctions deny even water to Iraqi citizens, but US peace workers pitch in
story and photos by Vickie Goodwin, contributor

Bombings Continue, and Public Health Conditions are Set to Worsen in Iraq
opinion by Ruth Wilson

Weapons Expert Blasts Bush's Missile 'Defense'
by Bob Hicks, contributor

Kent and Jackson, 1970
The real heroes were soldiers who organized against the war
opinion by Mike Alewitz, contributor

Changing the World, One Cup at a Time
by Nina Luttinger and Jeremy Simer, TransFair USA

'Shame Ads' Shame Shuttle Express Instead
Should a company replace your best friends?
opinion by Doug Collins

A Call to Arms
Non-consumers are a threat to the Corporate States of America
by Glenn Reed

Weapons Expert Blasts Bush's Missile 'Defense'

by Bob Hicks, contributor

Donald Whitmore is a retired Boeing engineer wherehe worked on the development of weapons systems for over 32 years. Heis also past president of the East Valley Republican Club.

However, he is now an arms control activist and a grandfather of tenwho cares deeply about the future of his grandchildren. He is theauthor of the two-volume Rationale for Nuclear Disarmament, and is acurrent member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Arms ControlAssociation and the Northwest Disarmament Coalition. He is alsofounder and president of the Third Millennium Foundation.

Whitmore fits no simple profile, but is well qualified to offer acritique of President Bush’s new defense initiative that threatens topropel the world into a second arms race.

In two forums, Whitmore demonstrated that the National Missile Defenseinitiative is foolhardy.

Whitmore says the proposed program can intercept only a few potentialweapons of mass destruction (WOMD), the least probable of threats tothe US. NMD does not touch covert weapons (i.e., suitcase bombs),cruise missiles, or ballistic attacks via sea launches. The only WOMDthat the system could prevent is land-based ballistic attacks. Itseems clear that an enemy bent on assailing the US would simply seekto develop a cruise missile or detonate a covert nuclear weapon.

But the efficacy of NMD’s defense against land-based ballisticlaunches is also questionable. Whitmore demonstrated that in the caseof a 20-missile attack the plausible chance of at least one warheadpenetrating the system varies from 18 percent to 88 percent. This isnot exactly seamless armor. Why is there such a wide uncertaintyregarding the failure rate? Estimates cannot be firmly ascertained asa mere three system tests (all failures) have been performed to dateand only 19 are scheduled before NMD deployment.

The $100 million-per-trial-run prohibits sufficient testing. Whitmorecalculates that 200 predeployment tests would be needed to develop aneffective system. The Bush plan for a blind, rushed deployment of NMDwould not create the magical protective shield presented to thepublic, but instead, a makeshift sieve with holes whose size could notbe measured until they were breached.

Whitmore adds that the ineffectiveness of NMD is not his greatestconcern. The main problem, he said, is that this system would breakthe Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972. It would push China andRussia toward an alliance against the US. It would spur development ofmultiple warhead missiles. It would increase the national debt andsteal jobs from the civilian sector (military projects employ onlyhalf as many people as civilian work).

Whitmore adds that NMD also siphons off efforts to counter WOMD. Proposed budgets to intercept terrorist threats and to secure nuclearmaterials in Russia are apparently set to be slashed in order to fundNMD.

Whitmore stated, “I am for a strong defense; people don’t realizethat. But this shield gives the illusion of protection at the cost ofgaining real protection.”

 

Bob Hicks is Secretary of the Green Party of Skagit County in Mt.Vernon; (360) 466-0549.


Google
WWW Washington Free Press

The Washington Free Press
PMB #178, 1463 E Republican ST, Seattle WA 98112 WAfreepress@gmail.com

Donate free food
Home |  Subscribe |  Back Issues |  The Organization |  Volunteer |  Do Something Directory