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August 1998 United States Special Weapons
Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Missile
Proliferation News

• Myers takes command of NORAD, space commands : 19 Aug 1998 PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- Gen. Richard B. Myers took command of North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command at a ceremony Aug. 14 here.
• AN AMERICAN HERO Time AUGUST 17, 1998 VOL. 152 NO. 7 "This space flight is the same as the first one," says John Pike, director of space policy for the Federation of American Scientists. "It had everything to do with making the country feel good. It's about the right stuff, not science. Which is fine with me."
• Alaska's Assets and American Security By Larry P. Arnn Los Angeles Times August 14, 1998 -- In China, though limited freedoms are emerging, communism remains the official doctrine. Forget the cautious words of President Clinton in China. When deeds are tyrannical, we should call them so. And we must not trust anyone guilty of such acts. We must abrogate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. It was a terrible idea from the start. The Soviets broke it systematically. Then they disbanded. So we have today a bad agreement with a partner that no longer even exists. We alone have the capacity to develop such a comprehensive defense, and the proven character to be trusted with that power.
• Star Wars defense system making a return? The Associated Press August 13, 1998 -- Republicans now see missile defense as a good issue for this fall's congressional elections. "It's time for us to announce to the world and to Russia and to China that we are not going to allow the American people to be vulnerable," said Rep. Curt Weldon.
• SANCTIONS V. U-S CONSTITUTION Voice of America 07 August 1998 -- A U-S FEDERAL COURT IN MASSACHUSETTS IS EXPECTED TO RULE ON WHETHER A STATE LAW PENALIZING LOCAL COMPANIES THAT DO BUSINESS WITH BURMA VIOLATES THE U-S CONSTITUTION.
• CONGRESS/ STATE SANCTIONS Voice of America 06 August 1998 - A FEW STATES HAVE IMPOSED SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.
• HOUSE APPROVES STATE, COMMERCE, JUSTICE APPROPRIATIONS BILL By Ralph Dannheisser USIA 06 August 1998 -- Members also voted to block implementation of agreements coming out of the 1997 U.S.-Russia Summit in Helsinki in which the two countries issued a joint statement concerning the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty -- not yet ratified by either the Senate or the Russian Duma.
• Keeping It Secret - Bases Busy In Post-Cold War Era By THOMAS HARGROVE Scripps Howard August 5, 1998 -- The underground installations, ultra-secure manufacturing plants and once-secret laboratories America needed to wage the Cold War are still intact despite federal downsizing policies that have gutted many other military and civilian programs. "It's like the sorcerer's apprentice," said John E. Pike, director of the Space Policy Project for the Federation of American Scientists. "We created this infrastructure originally to deal with Hitler half a century ago, switched it over to deal with the Soviets and now we can't turn it off."
• NICHOLSON CALLS MISSILE DEFENSE BILL "AN OVERDUE NATIONAL PRIORITY", AUGUST 5, 1998 – Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson hailed legislation introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives that would make deployment of a national missile defense system an official policy goal of the United States.
• America's secret bases still operational By THOMAS HARGROVE Scripps Howard August 5, 1998 -- The underground installations, ultra-secure manufacturing plants and once-secret laboratories America needed to wage the Cold War are still intact despite federal downsizing policies that have gutted many other military and civilian programs. "It's like the sorcerer's apprentice," said John E. Pike, director of the Space Policy Project for the Federation of American Scientists. "We created this infrastructure originally to deal with Hitler half a century ago, switched it over to deal with the Soviets and now we can't turn it off."
• Continuing support revealed for U.S. nuclear arsenal August 3, 1998 - The Cold War has been over for more than seven years, but most Americans continue to believe the U.S. remains at risk of nuclear conflict, and they support maintenance of a stockpile of nuclear weapons to ensure the safety of the country.

FAS | News | USA | 1998 |||| Index | Search |