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Show Stop the MX Dear Editor: The United Stated Air Force is leaving no stone unturned in their attempt at-tempt to take over what may be the biggest land grab in history, plus the largest project of all time, the highly tooted MX missile program for western Utah and eastern Nevada. This huge expenditure of taxpayers money will be the largest ever, by far. Now I would like to point out a few things concerning this program and why I feel it is the biggest pipe dream of all time. First, no one is sure that it is needed in its proposed entirety anyway. Another thing is the cost. Estimates indicate that is will be over $50 billion rather than $33 billion. But then what's a few more billion to many of those irresponsible bureaucrats that we seem to have so many of in Washington, D.C. Now I'm not saying that we may not need an MX missile program and if so, then naturally it's going to take lots of money to support. I'm not against it, provided it's really needed and handled properly. But as to this fiasco planned for Utah and Nevada I am not in favor of. Think about it, and carefully. By putting the entire operation on the Utah-Nevada area, we'd become the No. 1 bombing target in case of war. This along with .Dugway, Tooele, Thiokol and Hill Field would make us the prime target in all the country. If MX is needed, then it should be scattered across this country in various locations and on subs in the ocean, not bunched together in one area. No gardener would put all his seeds in one hill, nor no sergeant would group his combat squad in one foxhold even if he could. Think of the size of the chunk of ground to fall under this program. Think of its impact on the environment. In this region lies one of the few remaining places where one can get out in the wide open spaces, away from it all, so to speak. To rock hunt, prospect, search out old historic ghost towns and mining camps. This would practically come to an end in this huge area. It would become off-limits. The Air Force already has hundreds of square miles in southern Nevada between Las Vegas and Tonopah including in-cluding the huge cactus range and Emigrant Valley. Let them put a few MX missiles here and the rest as mentioned earlier in other spots across the country and in the ocean. Something that should make every one of us doubt the Air Force top brass when it comes to MX is why aren't they more acceptive or considerate of alternative locations and why are they so all fired up on a ractrack program. There are two reasons. First they don't want any other branch of the service involved, especially the Navy, which would be the case should the missiles be submarine based. No, they don't want to share this, the largest undertaking ever, with anyone else. It's the big cheese and they want it all. They want the glory. The other is they don't want anything cut out of the program, regardless of whether it's needed or not, as this would cut the project cost and they don't want that. It might get cut back to where it would only be the second largest project ever undertaken and that wouldn't do. To begin . with, our President shouldn't leave something like this up to one branch of the service. You would think that he and his chiefs of staff had better judgement in such matters. If MX is necessary, then it's got to be done right or it will wreck our country rather than defend it as it's supposed to do. We re already on the road to bankruptcy. In meetings held in the Salt Lake City area and western Utah and eastern Nevada, I know of none with a majority favoring MX or even coming close. In fact, it's my understanding that in some of them, not one person could be located in the group attending that favored MX as it's now proposed. I urge those of you who are interested to write your congressmen concerning this farce and to do so soon, because once it's done, there's no un doing. And then to top things off they'll probably go ahead and ship the wet-eye nerve bombs to Utah. Right now they're letting this sore spot cool a little in order to pacify us. Think about it and think hard. GEORGE E. LONG |