jtrim@orion.cair.du.edu (Jeff Trim) (05/05/89)
From: jtrim@orion.cair.du.edu (Jeff Trim) Well here's what I have on the subject: The 1972 ABM Treaty: Allows US and USSR to each defend a single site with battlemanagement radar and ABM missiles. The Russians chose to defend Moscow with a series of ABM radars, while the US chose to defend the Minuteman ICBM fields at Grand Forks, North Dakota. The US later SCRAPPED it's ABM capability in Grand Forks because they believed that it would be ineffective in a real use. Treaty allows Phased-array radars, but only on coastal areas of US and USSR and they must face OUTWARDS (out to sea). They cannot be near any missiles fields that they could protect and they must be on the coast so that they can be legitimate military targets. (I guess meaning that they can be vulnerable to attack). Obviously this is how it looks on PAPER ;) How it has been enforced or even instituted at all is up to the respective governments ;) But the fact remains that the USSR is free to have a site protecting Moscow as is the right given to them under the ABM treaty. We also can still have an ABM site if we want it -- any idea where to put it?? ;) I don't want to step over the bounds of this newsgroup but can someone tell me what I cannot say in here as well as what I can? Thanx.
smb@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com (Steven M. Bellovin) (05/09/89)
From: smb@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com (Steven M. Bellovin) In article <6252@cbnews.ATT.COM>, jtrim@orion.cair.du.edu (Jeff Trim) writes: > Treaty allows Phased-array radars, but only > on coastal areas of US and USSR and they must face OUTWARDS (out to sea). > They cannot be near any missiles fields that they could protect and > they must be on the coast so that they can be legitimate military > targets. It's not that they have to be military targets; it's that they must be early-warning radars, and not battle management radars. A radar on the coast is useful only for spotting stuff that's coming in; a radar inland has less effective range for early warning, and hence is presumed to be used to control anti-missle defenses.