Emerald
Vol 83. No 23
Eugene. Oregon 97403
Tuesday, October 6, 1981
MX plan to explode in controversy?
Brass blasts
stationary MX
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's top military
officer said Monday that Pres Reagan's proposed
buildup of strategic forces was approved over his
objections
But Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger insisted
the Reagan administration will not reconsider its
recommendation to build 100 B-1 bombers nor resur
rect a now-abandoned plan to shuttle long-range MX
missiles among desert shelters in the West
The split between the Pentagon's top civilian and
military leaders was aired as the Senate Armed Services
Committee opened hearings on the six-year, $180 3
billion strategic modernization program announced by
Reagan last Friday
Air Force Gen David Jones, chairer of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, testified that the mobile basing plan was
dropped over his objections in favor of an interim
program to put about three dozen MX weapons in
strengthened underground silos now occupied by Titan
and Minuteman missiles
Jones said "I remain to be convinced' that the
missiles can be made to withstand a Soviet attack by
any means other than the so-called "shell gamp" of
multiple bases that the Carter administration had
advanced
Jones said he personally places greater impor
tance on the B-1 program, which he favors, than the
MX
Some say that (the MX) is just a
stop-gap. . . All right, but it's an
awfully big gap and it’s very vital to
stop it.'
Senate committee chairer John Tower, R-Texas, a
strong proponent of the shell-game MX. said he hoped
the committee will get a new look when the administra
tion makes a decision in 1984 as to how to deploy the
100 new missiles permanently
Weinberger dashed that hope, saying "As far as
the president the administration and I are con
cerned, we have made a flat recommendation that the
(multiple shelter) system no longer be considered or
that it be reopened That's a firm, final decision.”
Reagan's decision to go ahead with the B-1 after
Carter shelved it in 1977 in favor of developing a
radar-evading Stealth bomber, evoked little controversy
at the Senate hearing
But Tower drew support from Sens John Warner,
R-Va , and Henry M Jackson, D-Wash , for a mobile MX
missle system With a stationary silo system. Jackson
said. "We have given the Soviets a better target to shoot
at "
However, Republican Sen Barry Goldwater, whose
home state of Arizona is the likely host for the first 18
silo-based MX missiles, supported the administration
plan, "I never thought the Russians were so stupid they
couldn’t figure out the shell game in a matter of hours "
But Weinberger said he was referring then to a
permanent basing system, not the interim one the
administration now is pushing while it studies whether
to eventually place the missiles aboard aircraft, in deep
underground caverns and mountainsides or to protect
them with a network of defensive missiles
He said the Titan silos would be reinforced to
withstand up to 5,000 pounds per square inch of blast
pressure, almost 10 times what Carter proposed for new
shelters in the Nevada and Utah deserts
"Some say that is just a stop-gap," the defense
secretary said "All right, but it's an awfully big gap and
it's very vital to stop it.”
Weinberger said the administration will provide
Congress with a detailed breakdown of the $180 3
billion package "within the next week or so "
But he said spending on the MX would be $16
billion to $17 billion less during the next six years than
Carter's multiple shelter plan would have cost
Si:*:
Emerald Graphic
Diverse locals
question policy
By RON HUNT
CM t?» Emarakj
Pres. Reagan’s MX proposal is being blasted from
both ends of the political spectrum
"Attacked from the right as not enough, attacked
from the left as not necessary It’s almost a no-win
decision for Reagan,” says William Baugh. University
political science professor.
And Reagan certainly hasn’t won local support for
his proposal
"I don't think it should be deployed at all. I think it’s
an example of paranoia," says Richard Brown, history
department head
Reagan proposed a $180 billion program Friday
that includes deployment of 100 MX missiles in existing
silos, production of 100 B1 bombers and development
of the radar-elusive Stealth bomber
The massive program also includes upgrading
command, control and communications systems,
developing the Trident II nuclear missile for submarine
deployment, and pursuing extensive antiballistic missile
research.
’’It’s kind of a defense smorgasbord — a little
something for everyone," Baugh says
But the smorgasbord isn't making too many people
happy
‘Attacked from the the right as not
enough,attacked from the left as
unnecessary. . . It’s almost a no
win decision for Reagan."
"I would certainly hope that the powers that be
would not limit their nuclear strategy to one-upman
ship,” and would instead concentrate on negotiation,
says law school dean Derrick Bell
"Any of this is of major concern for those interested
in the rule of law A commitment to law and reason
would be destroyed with even a light (nuclear) strike.”
"What the MX system signifies — the willingness of
the United States to attack first with nuclear weapons —
is totally immoral according to all Christian traditions
regarding warfare," says Ted Grimsrud, coordinator of
Christians for Peace and Justice
"I believe the decision to go ahead with it should be
strongly and actively opposed "
"Reagan's decision is a waste of money," says
Steve Kramer, Survival Center director
"With the budget problems facing the United
States right now, I think it's ridiculous Their use in
national security is questionable."
But "it's a better decision than spreading the thing
(the MX) all over the West," Kramer says, referring to
the rejected prbposals to deploy the MX in multiple
hidden shelters in Nevada and Utah
"We re appalled by it (Reagan's decision) and
we re very concerned that this is a step closer to
nuclear war,” says Dorothy Granada, a representative
of First Step, a local organization confronting "the clear
and present threat of nuclear weapons ”'
"It puts the United States closer to making an
offensive war,” Granada says
Despite the condemnations, Baugh says "there are
very few hard and fast answers
"The soundest part of Reagan s plan is improving
command control The weakest part is the B1, which is
purely a stop-gap aircraft before Stealth I think there'll
be a push in Congress to ditch the B1.”
"Dubious” is how Baugh describes Reagan's
options for basing and defending the MX. If the missiles
are placed in deep underground shelters, how would
they dig themselves out in the case of attack? If the
missiles are placed aboard aircraft, the cost would be
enormous And using antiballistic missiles to defend the
MX was prohibited with SALT I, Baugh says