September 21, 1999
Washington -- Senator Kent Conrad made his case for siting a National Missile Defense system in North Dakota when he spoke to a prestigious group of miliary leaders at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. at Fort McNair.
Conrad also discussed the continuing role for North Dakota's B-52s and Minuteman III missiles in his speech at a symposium titled: "Deterrence, Dissuasion, Denial and Defense: the Role for Strategic Capability for the 21st Century.
Senator Conrad was invited to give the evening's keynote address by Admiral Richard Mies, Commander-in Chief of the U.S. Strategic Command. In prepared remarks, Conrad said the single NMD site proposed by the Clinton Administration will not adequately protect the United States, especially the East Coast.
"A site in Alaska is needed to defend the Aleutians and the Western Hawaiian Islands against an attack from North Korea. But there is a trade-off. To provide a reliable defense for these sparsely populated or completely uninhabited islands, we give up the defense we deserve for the East Coast.
"The simple fact is that in the event of a launch from the Middle East against the East Coast, we would have to fire a volley of interceptors and hope for the best. There would be no second chance to defend Washington against a madman's attack from the middle east because of Alaska's remote location. In contrast, a North Dakota site gives you 'shoot-look-shoot' capability for the East Coast." In his remarks the North Dakota Senator said, "The B-52 fleet again proved its worth in Kosovo and continual upgrades have extended the life of the versatile aircraft until 2040.
"I describe the B-52 fleet as 'the Best Bomb Truck for the Buck,' They have the longest unrefueled range of any bomber, and incur by far the lowest cost to taxpayers per flying hour of any bomber."
Conrad's speech also highlighted the strategic importance of the Minuteman III:
"Our Minutemen are the most responsive nuclear forces in the world with a 99 percent alert rate. Both are undergoing modernization to keep them viable well into the next century."