Skip to comments.

Posted on 11/29/2001 2:05:27 AM PST by grimalkin

The United States is planning to conduct a missile defence test in space on Saturday.

An interceptor rocket fired from the central Pacific will attempt to shoot down a mock warhead in space.

The test is within the limits of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty governing missile defences.

It had been scheduled for October 24 but was delayed because of technical problems.

President George Bush has said repeatedly that the United States needs an effective defence against long-range ballistic missiles and that the ABM treaty must not be allowed to stand in the way.

Administration officials say the September 11 terrorist attacks, while not involving missiles, show the country is vulnerable to unconventional surprise attack and one day this could come from missiles.

For now, however, the administration is adhering to the treaty while it attempts to persuade Russia to set it aside as a relic of the Cold War.

Bush has said that unless he gets an arrangement with Russia that accommodates his missile defence program, the US will withdraw from the treaty, which it is permitted to do with six months' notice.

Vocal supporters of missile defence have urged the administration to declare the treaty invalid - since one of its two original signatories, the Soviet Union, no longer exists - and move ahead with unlimited testing.

Saturday's test will see a missile interceptor fired from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands at an intercontinental-range missile carrying a mock nuclear warhead. The missile intercept tests cost about £70 million each.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.