By
Emily Severson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Former government official speaks out against nuclear warfare
President George W. Bush's defense plan could mean nuclear terror for the U.S., an anti-missile defense activist said last night.
Robert Bowman, a former director of missile defense programs under U.S. Presidents Ford and Carter, told a gathering of UA students, faculty and Tucson activists about the danger's of Bush's missile defense program last night in the Modern Languages auditorium.
"Missile defense is a major concern to our national security," Bowman said. "What Bush is planning is so dangerous because it will increase the fear and hatred of us by terrorists."
Bowman said former President Ronald Reagan and the current Bush have turned missile defense, also known as Star Wars, into an offensive way to protect their self-interests.
He also said it was a waste of American's money, and that a terrorist is not likely to use an inter-continental missile to bomb the U.S.
"It is most likely he will smuggle a nuclear weapon in a Ryder truck or into the University of Arizona wrapped in marijuana," he said. "No Star Wars weapons will do the slightest good against a terrorist with a rental truck or a suitcase."
One of the panelists, Harrison Barrett, a UA optical science professor who researches the technologies associated with missile defense, said it was impossible to develop the optical computer needed to automatically deploy a defense system efficiently.
John Evans, a psychology senior, attended the panel discussion because he said the U.S. provokes attacks by other nations and wanted to learn more about missile defense.
"It is in students' self-interest to know these issues because the country can change dramatically in the next 40 or 50 years for better or worse," Harrison said.
Bowman said if the U.S. government did good instead of evil to other countries, no one would have any reason to threaten it with a weapon of mass destruction.
"Even though we are a democracy, we trample human rights and democracy around the world," Bowman said. "We do hateful things to people."
Bowman said there were other ways for the U.S. to prevent nuclear holocaust, such as buying the brain power and supplies needed to make weapons of mass destruction.
"The U.S. has the resources to make sure that no Russian scientist has to work for a terrorist to support his family," Bowman said.
Bowman ran as the Reform party presidential candidate against Pat Buchanan in the 2000 election. He won the Illinois, Iowa and California primaries before dropping out of the race because of a lack of money and media attention. He said he will not run again because U.S. politics are too dominated by corporate money.
