Greenpeace Targets ABM Tests
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Los Angeles (AFP) July 5, 2000 - Greenpeace launched a campaign against the US national missile defense system Wednesday, establishing a media center near a California air force base where the system will be tested Friday, the organization said Wednesday.
"Greenpeace opposes star wars because it will ignite a new nuclear arms race," the environmental organization said in the statement.
Some 50 experts on disarmament will gather at the Greenpeace center outside Vandenberg Air Force Base, along with a giant 16-meter (50-foot) inflatable missile and banners reading "Stop Star Wars," the organization said in a press release.
The Pentagon plans to test the national missile defense (NMD) system Friday by attempting to intercept a target missile fired from Vandenberg over the Pacific. The interceptor missile will be fired from the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) away.
The Pentagon's last attempt, on January 18, narrowly missed when the kill vehicle's infrared seekers went on the blink in the final seconds. Its first attempt in October succeeded, although that test was less demanding.
Russia, China, and US allies in Europe have warned that the program could start another arms race and upset the nuclear balance that has kept nuclear war in check for 50 years.
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File Photo: A payload launch vehicle carrying a prototype interceptor is launched from Meck Island in the Kwajalein Missile Range on Jan. 18, 2000, for a planned intercept of a ballistic missile target over the central Pacific Ocean. The target vehicle, a modified Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 6:19 p.m., PST, and the vehicle carrying the prototype interceptor was launched about 20 minutes later. The intercept was not achieved. DoD photo. |
Baghdad rejects US missile claims as "ridiculous"
Baghdad (AFP) July 5, 2000 - US accusations that Iraq has restarted its weapons program and flight-tested a short-range ballistic missile are "ridiculous", the official Iraqi news agency said Wednesday.
The accusations are "ridiculous and prove the weakness of the American administration which is aiming to spread doubt and raise false fears," INA charged.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that Iraq has conducted eight missile tests, including one last Tuesday.
Officials said production plants and research labs destroyed in December 1998 by US and British warplanes had been rebuilt and resumed work, according to the Times.
INA also questioned the "silence from the American administration on Iran's development of ballistic missiles" and slammed the United States' two-faced policy.
The Iranian military, which hopes to be completely self-sufficient in arms, regularly announces the tests of different types of missiles. The latest was in March, with the testing of the Standard sea-to-air missile in the Gulf. |
ABMDAILY
Iraq Makes Inroads With Missile Program
July (AFP) July 1, 2000 - US officials say that Iraq has restarted its weapons program and flight-tested a short-range ballistic missile, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Copyright 2000 AFP. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by AFP and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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