----- Original Message ----- From: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <mailto:Undisclosed-Recipient:;@mindspring.com> Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2000 10:04 PM Subject: 53 DEMOCRATS CALL FOR BMD FRAUD INQUIRY Opponents Want Missile Test Inquiry http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/w/AP-Missile-Defense.html June 22, 2000 Opponents Want Missile Test Inquiry Filed at 2:53 p.m. EDT By The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than 50 House Democrats urged the FBI on Thursday to investigate ``serious allegations of fraud and cover-up创 in development of a national missile defense system. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, meanwhile, said he is ``not going to be outraged创 if President Clinton leaves a decision on the system to the next president. Congressional Republicans have been pushing for Clinton to give the go-ahead this year for a system to protect all 50 states from limited nuclear missile attack. Lott is the first high-ranking Republican to suggest that a delay might be acceptable. Support for the system has been mixed among Democrats, with opponents citing recent reports questioning whether the planned system of interceptor missiles would work and whether the Pentagon is objectively weighing test results. ``If we磖e relying on this technology to protect the United States and the technology is being advanced with false information, the people have a right to know,创 said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, holding up a black umbrella full of gaping holes. Kucinich appeared at a news conference on the Capitol lawn with several other Democratic members and with physicist Robert L. Park, who said the limited testing conducted by the Pentagon is inadequate to ensure a viable system. Park said scientists with the American Physical Society strongly support an FBI inquiry. Earlier this week, Defense Secretary William Cohen indicated he might recommend going ahead with the system even if a July 7 test fails. The test involves a missile collision over the Pacific. Incoming missiles would be destroyed by impact rather than by an explosive device, requiring a precise hit. Fifty-three Democrats signed the letter to FBI Director Louis Freeh. The letter cited concerns of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and alleged a cover-up of a failed experiment of the system. ``Public scrutiny of the evidence for these allegations has recently been greatly impeded by the decision of the Department of Defense to classify that letter and attachments,创 the congressional letter said. The Democrats quoted from a New York Times report on the scientists' letter which said the system could not tell the difference between warheads and decoys. ``The American people need an independent investigation of this matter to determine if the well-documented and serious allegations of fraud in the National Missile Defense system are true and if a cover-up of that fraud has taken place,创 the letter said. On a possible delay in the presidential decision, Lott, R-Miss., told reporters, ``You are talking about only a few months there, and so I磎 not going to be outraged if he dodges this decision.创 Lott said he expected Clinton might avoid the decision ``because he doesn磘 want it to cause problems for Al Gore.创 While the majority leader said he generally would like to see a decision as soon as possible, ``From my viewpoint, the possibility of the decision being made more appropriately or in a stronger way by hopefully future President George W. Bush has some attractiveness.创 Bush has backed a much more ambitious anti-missile shield than the administration is currently considering. Many critics of the system -- intended to repel a limited attack of ballistic missiles from unpredictable countries such as North Korea, Iran or Iraq -- have cited the dialogue between North and South Korea as yet another reason for delay. But, Lott said, ``National missile defense is not just about North Korea. It磗 about dangerous countries and dangerous people and accidents all over the world.创 Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company Bruce K. Gagnon Coordinator Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space PO Box 90083 Gainesville, FL. 32607 (352) 337-9274 http://www.globenet.free-online.co.uk [EMAIL PROTECTED]
