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Show Landfoil Ian as - New Mexico can meet this criteria satisfactorily. We owe it to the citizens of all possible deployment areas to be. sure. We have much work to do on both the basing mode and basing area issues, and we will examine each fact in the most stringent detail to make sure that the citizens of Utah and Nevada are not being asked to carry an unfair un-fair burden. Air Force officials have previously told us that split deployment of the 200 MXs could cost between $3 and $7 billion. We believe that some assumptions about these large costs are open to question, and we will be examining the nature of any large costs ascribed to split deployment to be sure that inflated costs are not given as a reason to prevent split deployment. The Air Force applies so called operational criteria in evaluating six MX basing bas-ing areas. The criteria . stipulated that MX should not be located within 200 nautical miles of an international inter-national border, coastline or high strategic , target. This provides protection from sensors - that could detect de-tect the exact location of missiles, reduces system sys-tem vulnerability to Sea -Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) attacks, and allows communication with .surviving .sur-viving command authorities during and after an attack. In addition, the criteria included consideration of the effect that local population density could have on the ability to protect the system sys-tem against a breakdown in system concealment. This results in the requirement to avoid large concentrations of people, such as cities and recreation areas. According to the Senators the study concluded that only Nevada -Utah and West Tex- j Senators Paul Laxalt and j jake Garn challenged a pre -1 limlnary Air Force conclu- sion that only two areas in the U.S. - Nevada - Utah - and West Texas - New Mexico, Mex-ico, be considered for de-j de-j ployment of the proposed MX missile system. Laxalt and Garn said the conclusion contained in an Air Force draft study, was based on overly narrow cri-! cri-! teria and the questionable assumption that all 200 missiles mis-siles would be deployed in one location. The senators have asked Air Force Secretary Hans Mark to redo the basing area study, taking into account ac-count the serious consider -1 ation being given to splitting split-ting up the MX system over several states. If 100 or fewer missiles are deployed deploy-ed in a single area, they said, then the probability that there are more than two areas suitable as MX sites is greater. In short, the situation has changed since the study was done, and it needs to be redone on a broad basis and with a degree of imagination ima-gination and innovation. The study is apparently a precursuor to the chapter on split basing that will be part of the MX EE. We believe the EIS must not be limited only to two areas, limiting our options concerning con-cerning split deployment. The study reaffirmed the statements made to us at recent Senate Appropriations Appro-priations Committee hearings hear-ings that there are no overriding over-riding operational objections object-ions to non contiguous basin?. bas-in?. . |