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  • Publications (documents)
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  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
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  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2004-05_Vol68_No11_11

Congressional Audit Calls Missile Defense Unproven By Bradley Graham | The Washington Post WASHINGTON - A congressional audit of the Bush administrations efforts to build a nationwide defense against ballistic missile attack warned Friday that the system, due to be fielded later this year, will be largely unproven because of a lack of realistic testing. The report, by the General Accounting Office, said the eight flight intercepts attempted so far have been largely repetitive and scripted, and that critical parts of the system have yet to be flight-tested together. Some elements that were to be part of the initial deployment phase have been deferred because of developmental glitches and production delays, the report noted, Nevertheless, the cost in 2004 and 2005 for developing and fielding the initial systemwhich is to include 20 missile interceptors along with several ground- and sea-based radarsrose by $1.12 billion to $7.36 billion over the past year, the report disclosed. Some of the reports sharpest criticisms were reserved for how the Pentagons Missile Defense Agency has accounted for its activities. The report faulted the agency for frequently shifting goals and providing incomplete information about costs and performance to Congress. The reports titleActions Are Needed to Enhance Testing and Accountabilitysummed up GAOs concerns. A number of the reports findings echo earlier reviews by the GAO and others, but the study represents the most extensive assessment so far by the agency, an investigative branch of Congress. It comes as the Pentagon is preparing to start lowering the first interceptor missiles into newly built silos in Alaska and California and declare the system operational during the summer or autumn. Construction. of-the-system has been.a high priority for the Bush administration, which is pursuing a series of anti-missile technologies with the aim of erecting a network of defenses to target warheads in various stages of flight. Funding for these projects has absorbed more research and development dollars than any other military programmore, in fact, than the Armys entire R&D budget. The administrations request for fiscal 2005 tops $10 billion. President Bush has argued that defenses against long-range missiles are necessary to protect the United States against the growing threat of attack by North Korea and other hostile states. But congressional Democrats have challenged the urgency the administration has attached to the progam. The GAO report confirms much of what weve been saying all along, and it does so in a very credible, very thorough and very objective way, said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.1., a leading congressional critic and a member of the Armed Services Committee. - Unable to stop the missile defense drive, which has strong Republican support, Democrats wrote into law two years ago a requirement that the Pentagon establish cost, prformance and other goals for the program. The law also directed GAO to conduct annual assessments. of the program, which has become more secretive under Bush. Fridays report marked the first such assessment. It noted the unusual freedom the administration has granted the program, exempting the Missile Defense Agency from many traditional oversight requirements. Such flexibility, the report said, does not diminish the importance of ensuring accountability over the substantial investments in missile defense. - Among the gaps in Pentagon information to Congress about the program, the report cited cost estimates. The Pentagon has projected that $53 billion more will be needed for missile defense between 2004 and 2009, but has not specified likely additional costs for oes maintenance and other lifecycle expenses, the report said. GAO also questioned the slosificdnce 0 of some of the programs performance goals, particularly the probability of engagement success a classified estimate of how the system canbe expected to perform against certain types of warheads, The estimate, as given to Congress, lacks mention of key assumptions on which it is basedfactors such as the nature of the warhead or the number of anticipated decoys. Without these implicit assumptions being explained, the operational capability of the fielded system is difficult to fully understand, the report said. The report recommended that the Missile Defense Agency establish specific baseline estimates for program costs, schedule and performance and be required ach year to explain variations from those baselines. It also recommended that operationally realistic testing and evaluation be conducted under the Pentagons chief weapons evaluator to increase confidence that the system will perform as intended. Testing so far has been controlled by the Missile Defense Agency and has involved surrogates or prototypes for a number of elements still being built. In comments attached. to the report, the Pentagon agreed to set baselines but rejected the idea of moving to operational testing, saying there is no legal obligation to do so until the system matures further. Eyen after deploying initial elements this year, Pentagon officials plan to treat the system largely as an experimental program, moving gradually to more realistic fest. 2004 WASHINGTON POST Fox, Viacom and the Screen Actors Guild asked the Federal Communications Commission to pull back on its zero tolerance campaign against indecency, saying it will stifle creativity, violate the First Amendment and put broadcasters at a disadvantage against unregulated cable networks. The appeal came in a case involving rock star Bono and his utterance at a live awards show, and is the likely first step to a federal court challenge. The American Civil Liberties Union and magicians Penn and Teller joined in the appeal. Former Air Force procurement official Darleen A. Druyun acknowledged meeting secretly with Boeings former chief financial officer, Michael M. Sears, at the Orlando airport to hammer out details of a $250,000-a-year job while still negotiating a $23 billion contract with the defense firm. When the meeting ended, Sears told her, This meeting really didnt take place, according to court records. After pleading guilty to conspiracy, Druyun is expected to provide evidence against Sears and other Boeing officials. Overtime Victors The Labor Department issued revised overtime rules, reducing the number of workers who might lose time- and-a-half pay. Those with incomes below $23,600 are virtually assured overtime eligibility, while those earning more than $100,000 will have trouble qualifying. In the gray area in between, executive and administrative workers and creative professionals will be considered salaried employees, while paralegals, cooks, bookkeepers and public safety workers will be see for overtime. (Overtime withen.by a Steven Pearlstein, The Washington Post) 2004 WASHINGTON POST Virginia Seeks New Role Against Illegals By Mary Beth Sheridan | The Washington Post WASHINGTON - The federal government will soon grant a group of Virginia State Police officers the power to enforce immigration law, making the state the third in the country to adopt the practice since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, local officials said. The tentative agreement between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Virginia State Police, permissible under a 1996 law, is part of a movement across the country to grant local law enforcement officials more authority to detain illegal immigrants. Proponents say the expanded powers will give police more tools to combat terrorism, gang violence and other crimes. But immigrant advocates counter that the practice could lead to ethnic profiling. And some police officials, including Washington D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey, are openly opposed to the idea and say it could discourage immigrants from reporting crimes. The debate illustrates the complexity of improving security in a country that is home to an estimated 8 million or more illegal immigrants. Three of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks were part of that underground population, but so are millions of workers and families in communities across America. Homeland Security, which enforces immigration laws, acknowledges that it does not have enough agents to track down all those undocumented immigrants. Virginia officials decided to seek extra immigration powers for some state police officers after participating in local and federal task forces on terrorism and gang violence. We had this recurring discussion about our inability at some times to deal with illegal immigrants when we were involved in other types of investigations, said Col. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of Virginias state police. While the police had worked with federal immigration authorities over the years, he said, their resources are limited as well. So you dont always have them available to you. Until recently, local and state police could not make arrests on civil immigration violations, although they could detain immigrants for criminal offenses and sometimes helped federal immigration authorities with transportation or security. But a provision of a.1996 law allows federal authorities to deputize local or state police to enforce immigration law. Flaherty said he and other officials discovered that two other states Florida and Alabamahad sent dozens of state police officers to be trained in immigration enforcement under the federal program since the Sept, 11 attacks. Virginia then ee a Homeland Security to do the same. Michael Garcia, who oversees immigration enforcement for Homeland Security, said federal authorities were not urging state police to receive the training but were happy to provide it if asked. So far, he said, the program has worked well. Tf you look at our resources, we are limited. Its been, I think, helpful to have additional people out there who are skilled in it and who can do the enforcement of immigration law, he said. Obviously, we watch to see thats being done appropriately. Under the agreement being negotiated, about 50 Virginia state police officers would be able to enforce federal immigration law in addition to their other responsibilities, Flaherty said. The officers would be stationed throughout the state, with one attached to each of the 24 drug task forces in Virginia, he said. They would be under the supervision of federal authorities when carrying out immigration enforcement. Flaherty said the officers, who may begin training as early as next month, would use their immigration authority only in special cases. Were not going to plan any sweeps of illegal immigrants and whatnot. We just want this tool to use in other cases, he said. In addition to participating in the Homeland Security program, Virginia recently passed a law that would permit state anc! local police to arrest immigrants who were back in the country afte - having been convicted of felonies and deported. Both the new law and the Homeland Security program fer state police will likely result in only a small number of arrests. But immigrant advocates are concerned that the measures could lead to officers mistakenly detaining people who are here legally. Quite frankly, immigration law is pretty complicated, said Judy Golub of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, noting that there are myriad visas and permits allowing people to stay in the country. 2004 WASHINGTON POST PAS AIL SILL SLE LOPS POLL OL OL OL EAL ALAS ARS A PRA EOS DORADA eh Se SG

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2004-05
• Extent
  • Dimension: 14" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 28
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2004-05_Vol68_No11
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library