Strategic Weapons: January 16, 2000

Archives

President Clinton will ask Congress to add another $2.2 billion to missile defense. Congress will certainly agree. Only a year ago, Clinton added $6.6 billion to the program, which is estimated to cost $13 billion. The current plan is a single interceptor site, probably in Alaska, that could defend most of the continental US from missile attack. The current budget covers only 20 interceptor missiles, enough perhaps to stop half a dozen incoming missiles. The system that the Pentagon wants would have all 100 interceptors allowed by the 1972 ABM Treaty. --Stephen V Cole