DATE=02/01/99 TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP NUMBER=6-11124 (CORRECTED) TITLE=U-S MISSILE DEFENSE BYLINE=NELSON BROWN TELEPHONE=619-2702 DATELINE=WASHINGTON EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS /// RE-RUNNING WITH CORRECT TITLE AND FIXING TEXT /// CONTENT= INTRO: PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE 1972 ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY SIGNED BY THE UNITED STATES AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION. THE PROPOSAL HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF PUBLIC DEBATE AND EDITORIAL OPINION IN AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS. WE GET A SAMPLING NOW FROM _____________ IN TODAY'S U-S OPINION ROUNDUP. TEXT: THE IDEA OF REVIVING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE SYSTEM OUTLAWED BY THE 1972 TREATY HAS BEEN IN THE PUBLIC MIND FOR SEVERAL YEARS. BUT THE DEBATE WAS GIVEN NEW LIFE LAST AUGUST, AFTER NORTH KOREA FIRED AN EXPERIMENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE OVER JAPAN. IN HIS STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE LAST MONTH, PRESIDENT CLINTON NOTED THAT NEARLY SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS WAS BEING PROPOSED TO DEVELOP A MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM BY THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND. THE REASON: "NEW REALITIES" IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA, AND THE EXISTENCE OF WHAT WERE CALLED "ROGUE NATIONS" WHO MIGHT BUILD A MISSILE SYSTEM CAPABLE OF HITTING PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES. AN EDITORIAL IN NEW YORK'S "NEWSDAY" URGED U-S POLICYMAKERS TO EXPLORE THE VIABILITY OF AN A-B-M SYSTEM, AND TO SEEK AN AMENDMENT TO THE A-B-M TREATY WITH WHAT IS NOW RUSSIA AND THE FORMER SOVIET STATES. "NEWSDAY" SAYS THE LATEST PROPOSAL IS NOT A REVIVAL OF A MISSILE DEFENSE PROPOSED BY PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN DURING THE 1980'S: VOICE: CALL IT STAR WARS LITE [LIMITED VERSION]. THE NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM THAT PRESIDENT CLINTON WANTS TO DEVELOP AND DEPLOY IS NOT THE GRANDIOSE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE -- THE SO-CALLED STAR WARS PLAN -- ENVISIONED BY RONALD REAGAN. WHAT REMAINS THE SAME ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED: IS THIS A VALID RESPONSE TO A GENUINE THREAT? CAN THE NATION AFFORD THE SYSTEM? WILL DEPLOYMENT VIOLATE IMPORTANT ARMS TREATIES? AND, FINALLY, WILL THE TECHNOLOGY REALLY WORK? TEXT: "THE KANSAS CITY STAR" SAYS THE 1972 TREATY WITH THE SOVIET UNION THROWS UP IMPORTANT ROADBLOCKS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MISSILE SYSTEM. BUT, IN THE STAR'S VIEW, IT IS TIME FOR THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT MISSILE DEFENSE: VOICE: THE A-B-M TREATY...IS OBSOLETE. IT IS BASED ON THE INCREASINGLY NEBULOUS DISTINCTION BETWEEN 'STRATEGIC' AND 'THEATER' WEAPONS. UNDER THE TREATY, STRATEGIC DEFENSES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED BUT ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEMS USED IN 'THEATERS' OF WAR ARE PERMITTED. THE LATEST CONFUSION RECALLS PRESIDENT CLINTON'S 1996 VETO OF A DEFENSE BILL ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT CALLED FOR MISSILE DEFENSE OUTLAYS IN EXCESS OF NEEDS. THAT DECISION WAS BASED ON A NEW DISCREDITED ASSESSMENT THAT CLAIMED NO REAL THREAT WOULD APPEAR FOR 15 YEARS OR SO. TEXT: "THE KANSAS CITY STAR" SAYS A SUBSEQUENT BIPARTISAN STUDY CALLED THE THREAT REAL, AND ITS FINDINGS WERE FOLLOWED BY REPORTS OF A MEDIUM-RANGE MISSILE LAUNCH BY IRAN AND A MULTI-STAGE ROCKET LAUNCH BY NORTH KOREA. THE BOSTON-BASED NATIONALLY CIRCULATED "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR" URGES THE U-S GOVERNMENT TO MOVE CAUTIOUSLY ON DEVELOPING AN A-B-M. IT NOTES THAT CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS WANT TO COMMIT TO DEPLOYMENT; THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO DEFER A FINAL DECISION UNTIL NEXT YEAR. THE "MONITOR" SAYS MISSILE DEFENSE ADVOCATES WANT A SYSTEM DEPLOYED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, BUT THERE WERE OBSTACLES TO BE OVERCOME: VOICE: THE FIRST OBSTACLE IS THAT SUCH A SYSTEM DOESN'T EXIST YET, ALTHOUGH IT IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT. A SERIES OF FAILURES IN TESTS OF SMALLER-SCALE "THEATER" MISSILE DEFENSE SHOW THE DISTANCE TO BE TRAVELED. BUT THERE'S ANOTHER HURDLE: THE A-B-M TREATY, SIGNED WITH THE SOVIET UNION IN 1972. THAT TREATY ALLOWS THE UNITED STATES TO DEPLOY A MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM AT ONE SITE IN NORTH DAKOTA. IT'S NOT YET POSSIBLE TO PROTECT ALL 50 STATES FROM THERE, AND A SYSTEM THAT DID SO WOULD VIOLATE THE CURRENT TREATY. TEXT: THE"CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR" SAYS THE NEW PROPOSED DEFENSE SYSTEM CAN BE MADE TO FIT INTO THE 1972 TREATY IF THE RUSSIANS AGREE TO THE NECESSARY CHANGES. // OPT // BUT, IT SAYS TO DUMP THE A-B-M ACCORD UNILATERALLY COULD HAVE SERIOUS POLITICAL REPERCUSSIONS IN RUSSIA: VOICE: THE LAST THING THE UNITED STATES WANT TO DO IS WEAKEN THE STANDING OF RUSSIAN DEMOCRATS AND FREE-MARKETEERS AND STRENGTHEN RUSSIA'S NEO-FASCIST NATIONALISTS AND COMMUNISTS. INDEED, IF IT'S NOT CAREFUL, BY TRYING TO PROTECT ITSELF FROM ROGUE STATES, THE U-S COULD END UP CREATING A NEW ONE. // END OPT // THE "NEW YORK POST" TAKES A SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE NEED TO CONSULT WITH PRESENT-DAY RUSSIA. IT DESCRIBES AS BIZARRE THE FACT THAT THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION IS PREPARING, IN THE PAPER'S WORDS, TO ASK MOSCOW FOR PERMISSION TO BEGIN BUILDING A MISSILE DEFENSE: VOICE: [MR.] CLINTON WROTE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN ... TO PROPOSE THAT THE 1972 ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY BE RENEGOTIATED TO LET AMERICA BUILD A DEFENSE AGAINST AN ATTACK BY A SMALL POWER LIKE NORTH KOREA....FOR ONE THING, THE 1972 PACT WAS NEGOTIATED WITH THE SOVIET UNION -- WHICH, IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN OUT OF TOUCH -- NO LONGER EXISTS. SO THE TREATY REALLY ISN'T BINDING....BEYOND THAT, WHOM DOES WASHINGTON MEAN TO NEGOTIATE WITH? YELTSIN? IT'S NOT CLEAR THAT HE'LL EVEN BE ALIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SIGN A NEW AGREEMENT, LET ALONE THAT HE'LL REMAIN IN POWER AS TALKS PROGRESS. // OPT // AND CAN YELTSIN NEGOTIATE ON BEHALF OF, SAY, BELARUS -- A FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC RUN BY AN UNSTABLE SEMI-TYRANT NAMED ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO -- WHICH THE U-S CURRENTLY CONSIDERS A FELLOW SIGNATORY TO THE A-B-M TREATY? // END OPT // TEXT: FINALLY, "THE MIAMI HERALD" SAYS THE ADMINISTRATION SHOULD FORGET "STAR WARS" AND SPEND ANY INCREASED U-S MILITARY FUNDING WHERE IT COUNTS, ON SALARIES, SPARE PARTS AND MAINTENANCE: VOICE: IN KEEPING WITH AN EARLIER AGREEMENT WITH CONGRESS, MR. CLINTON SET ASIDE SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS ...TO INITIATE A MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM, THE 'STAR WARS' OF THE REAGAN ERA. YET IT REMAINS FAR FROM CERTAIN WHETHER THE REQUIRED TECHNOLOGY WILL BE AVAILABLE BY 2000. NOR DOES THERE APPEAR TO BE A THREAT SUFFICIENT TO JUSTIFY ABROGATING THE 1972 ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY. CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS CAN SURELY FIND BETTER USES FOR SEVEN BILLION DOLLARS. TEXT: AND WITH THOSE COMMENTS, WE END THIS EDITION OF U-S OPINION ROUNDUP. NEB/NCB/KL 01-Feb-99 3:24 PM EST (2024 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .