SCIENTISTS COOL TO MISSILE SHIELD

Abstract

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH last week proposed thinking the unthinkable about nuclear weapons: Reduce the U.S. arsenal as rapidly as possible, but don't let the 1972 Antiballistic Missile agreement between the U.S. and the then-Soviet Union stand in the way of developing a missile defense system for the U.S. and its allies. He drew an instant response from some of the nation's top scientists and defense analysts. As it happened, at the same time that Bush was speaking at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., occurring across town was along-scheduled National Academy of Sciences symposium on nuclear weapons policy issues facing the new Administration. Responding to a near real-time telecast of the President's address, symposium attendees generally applauded the President's appeal for new thinking on nuclear arms. But most remained highly skeptical of the need for, feasibility of, and impact of missile defense. William F. Burns, retired major general of the U.S. Army and ...