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2001 WMD Response Program News

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

December

• 19 December 2001: Senator Joseph Biden on "Missile Defense Delusion"
• 15 December 2001: The Defense Department announced that it is canceling the Navy's program to develop an area missile defense system due to cost overruns and poor performance of equipment built under the program thus far.
• 14 December 2001: As widely predicted, the United States Thursday announced its withdrawal from a 1972 arms control treaty in order to pursue development of a new missile defense system. Washington made the decision despite objections by Russia and concerns expressed by some close allies.
• 12 December 2001President Bush could notify Russia within the next few days that the United States is withdrawing from the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty. President Bush says the treaty is outdated and does not allow for tests on a new missile defense system planned by the Pentagon.
• Pentagon Says Experimental Missile Defense Test A Success Washington File: 4 December 2001
• DoD Says Missile Test is a Success Washington File, 4 December 2001 The U.S. Defense Department announced December 3 that it had successfully conducted a test in which an interceptor, called an exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV), tracked and destroyed an intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific.
• DoD:Interceptor Scores Another Bulls-eye American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2001 – The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization scored another bull's-eye on Dec. 3 in a test of the "kill vehicle," officials announced.
• Department of Defense News Release December 3, 2001 Missile Intercept Test Successful: The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) announced today it has successfully completed a test involving a planned intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target.
• 2 December 2001: Missile Test postponed.

November

• Special briefing on the ballistic missile defense test scheduled for 1 December 2001, 30 November 2001
• U.S. To Conduct Missile Defense Test December 129 November 2001 (Test is in compliance with ABM Treaty, Pentagon says) (210) Washington -- The United States will conduct its fifth ballistic missile defense test December 1 at a test range over the Pacific Ocean.

October

• DoD news briefing related to the reorganization and postponed missile test, 25 October 2001

September

• Missile Defense and Deterrence Fact Sheet: Bureau of Arms Control Washington, DC September 1, 2001

August

July

• Defense Says Missile Intercept Test Successful, U.S. Department of Defense, 15 July 2001 -- The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) announced today it has successfully completed a test involving a planned intercept of an intercontinental ballistic missile target. This test took place over the central Pacific Ocean.
• Bush Missile Defense, Voice of America, 15 July 2001 -- President Bush's hopes for a missile defense system got a big boost Saturday when the Pentagon staged a successful test of key technology. A missile interceptor successfully hit a mock nuclear warhead over the Pacific Ocean. V-O-A's Paula Wolfson reports White House officials say Mr. Bush was pleased with the results.
• Gen. Kadish Briefing Following Successful Missile Test, U.S. Department of Defense, 15 July 2001
• DepSecDef Wolfowitz testimony, Senate Armed Services Committee, 12 July 2001 -- Most detailed statement yet of Administration rationale for NMD
• LtGen Kadish testimony, Senate Armed Services Committee, 12 July 2001 -- Most detailed statement yet NMD program

  June

  May

• Press Availability Dr. Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense Remarks at a Press Availability at the U.S. Embassy Berlin, Germany May 10, 2001
• Europe Missile Defense, Voice of America, 02 May 2001 -- U-S allies in Europe are nervous about the potential impact of an American missile-defense system on global stability.
• Missile Defense / React, Voice of America, 02 May 2001 -- President Bush's pledge to deploy a missile defense network is meeting resistance in Washington as well as some foreign capitals.
• Missiles / Asia Reaction, Voice of America, 02 May 2001 -- Asian reaction to President Bush's plan to build a missile defense system has been limited so far, but official Chinese media quote analysts as critical of the plan.

  April

• Senate Moving Toward Debate over Export-Control Reform Bil, USIS Washington File, 26 April 2001 -- The Senate has begun grappling with a bill that would reform the Cold War-era law authorizing advanced technology export controls.
• Test facility hones in on impact of nuclear explosions in space, by Tina Barton, Air Force Print News, 19 April 2001 -- Determining how nuclear explosions in space affect U.S. defense systems is what an Arnold Engineering Development Center team hope to determine using its new plasma radiation source "cold" X-ray test capability.
• Team Janus Formed to Compete for NATO TBMD Feasibility Study Contract, Lockheed Martin Press Release, 02 April 2001 -- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and a team of major international aerospace and defense companies today announced the official formation of Team Janus, which is competing for the pending NATO Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (TBMD) Feasibility Study.

  March

• Lockheed Martin's PAC-3 Missile Intercepts Target in White Sands Test, Lockheed Martin PRess Release, 31 March 2001 -- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control - Dallas, the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Army conducted yet another successful flight of a Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., this morning.
• Navy Completes Technical Evaluation of Cooperative Engagement , DOD News Release, 06 March 2001 -- The Navy announced today that the results of a recently completed technical evaluation (TECHEVAL) indicate the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is on track to a successful Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL) in April and May of 2001.

  February

• CIA Report Cites Continuing Weapons Proliferation, USIS Washington File, 26 February 2001 -- Nations determined to maintain or expand their weapons of mass destruction (WMD)and ballistic missile development programs have been significantly insulating them against interdiction and disruption, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report says.
• Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions, 1 January Through 30 June 2000, Central Intelligence Agency, 26 February 2001
• Lockheed opens new Airborne Laser optical facility, Air Force Print News, 23 February 2001 -- Lockheed Martin Space Systems opened an $8 million, 16,000 square-foot optical test center here Feb. 22 designed to analyze the Air Force's airborne laser beam guidance system.
• Lockheed Martin Production Award Will Deliver Expanded Missile Defense Capability for the U.S. Navy's Area Defense Against Tactical Ballistic Missiles, Lockheed Martin Press Release, 16 February 2001 -- Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems (NE&SS)-Surface Systems announced today that it received $182.5 million as part of a multi-year contract from the U.S. Navy for the production of three Aegis Weapon Systems. The three Baseline 7 Phase 1 Aegis Weapon Systems incorporate the latest technology that enables Arleigh Burke-class destroyers to intercept and destroy incoming ballistic missiles.
• U.S. Tells OSCE of Missile Launch Notification Agreement, U.S. Mission to the OSCE, Vienna, 15 February 2001 -- U.S. Ambassador David Johnson described for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Permanent Council a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on missile launch notifications signed by the United States and Russia last December that will promote mutual confidence and strengthen international security.
• Guam delegate says island must be included in missile defense planning , By Donovan Brooks, Stars and Stripes, 13 February 2001 -- Guam must be included in national missile defense program planning, the island's Washington delegate told Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a letter detailing top defense issues facing the Pacific island
• NMD: Tensions Rise As Diplomatic Gamesmanship Moves Into High Gear, Foreign Media Reaction Reports, 09 February 2001 -- Foreign media commentary on U.S. efforts to go ahead with NMD.
• US-Missile defense, Voice of America, 06 February 2001 -- U-S Defense officials say development of a controversial missile defense system is moving forward.
• Alamo Alert plans how to thwart work of bioterrorist, by Dewey Mitchell, Air Force Print News, 06 February 2001 -- Alamo Alert explored city, county, state and federal responses to a contagious biological agent.
• Pentagon Spokesman's Briefing - Missile Defense, U.S. Department of Defense, 06 February 2001 -- Q: Can we assume that - for example, there's been speculation about different kinds of, different varieties of NMD would be a completely separate thing, even though there's ultimately a resource question that goes completely separate.
• White House Daily Briefing - Missile Defense, The White House, Office of the Secretary, 05 February 2001 -- Q: At the Wehrkunde Strategic Policy Conference in Munich over the weekend, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said in effect that the decision to deploy a national missile defense is a done deal. As you know, there is strong opposition on the part of many NATO members, as well as Russia and China, and there are some who believe that Russia could try to use this issue to split the Alliance. Having said all that and realizing that, is there any wiggle room in there? Are there any conditions under which the President would choose not to deploy, or is he still totally committed to it?
• NATO / Missile Defense, Voice of America, 05 February 2001 -- NATO Secretary-General George Robertson says U-S allies in Europe must accept the fact that President Bush is determined to develop and deploy a national missile defense to fulfill a promise he made during last year's election campaign.
• Tropical paradise or chemical wasteland? Ten years of chemical weapons destruction comes to an end in the Pacific., Airman Magazine, February 2001 -- Johnston Atoll is a one-stop shop for chemical weapon incineration. Since 1990, the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System has destroyed more than 4 million pounds of nerve and mustard agents stored in more than 400,000 rockets, projectiles, bombs, mines and 1-ton containers.

  January

• Navy Completes Successful Theater Wide Missile Defense Test , DOD News Release, 26 January 2001 -- The U.S. Navy moved another step closer yesterday to developing a Navy Theater Wide (NTW) capability with a successful flight test of the newly developed Standard Missile-3 (SM-3).
• Lockheed Martin Selects Pike County, Alabama, Operation as Missile Final Assembly Site for $3.8 Billion THAAD Weapon System, Lockheed Martin Press Release, 24 January 2001 -- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, prime contractor on the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System, has selected its production facility in Pike County (Troy), Ala., as the missile final assembly and test site for the $3.8 billion THAAD weapon system.
• Rumsfeld makes his case for building missile defense, Stars and Stripes, 12 January 2001 -- The United States needs a national missile defense and could deploy the system even before all the technical bugs are worked out, Defense Secretary-designate Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday.
• Reserve, National Guard Forces Integrate Into Nuclear Missions , DOD News Release, 11 January 2001 -- The Department of Defense today announced a policy revision that will allow Reserve force members to participate in highly sensitive nuclear-related missions that were barred to reservists in the past.
• DOD Proliferation Report Updates Threat from Nuclear, Bio, Chemical Weapon, USIS Washington File, 10 January 2001 -- At least 24 countries, including Iraq and North Korea, either possess weapons of mass destruction or are in the process of acquiring them, Defense Secretary Cohen told a National Press Club audience January 10.
• Cohen on DOD Report on "Proliferation: Threat and Response", U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, 10 January 2001 -- Defense Secretary William Cohen, in a message introducing a Defense Department report entitled "Proliferation: Threat and Response," says the "unrivaled supremacy" of the United States in the conventional military arena "is prompting adversaries to seek unconventional, asymmetric means to strike what they perceive as our Achilles heel."
• Proliferation: Threat and Response, Office of the Secretary of Defense, January 2001, 138 pages.
• Air Force needs $38M to keep Airborne Laser program on track, Air Force Print News, 05 January 2001 -- Air Force officials said Jan. 5 they will request congressional approval to reprogram $38 million in fiscal 2001 funds to keep the Airborne Laser program, the world's first laser-armed combat aircraft, on track for a live-fire demonstration in 2003.
• Allegations of Fraud in the National Missile Defense Program, Schwartz v. TRW and Boeing, Fourth Amended Complaint, 5 January 2001. "This is an action by Dr. Nira Schwartz... to recover penalties and damages arising from fraud on a vast scale perpetrated by defendants TRW, Inc. and Boeing North America, Inc. in connection with the efforts of the U.S. Army's Space and Strategic Defense Command to develop a Ground Based Interceptor for possible deployment by the U.S. National Missile Defense program."

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