BASIC PRESS NOTICE

ADVANCE PRESS NOTICE FOR TUESDAY 9 NOVEMBER

Timely conference to consider missile defence developments

Two respected think tanks, BASIC and Demos, have joined forces to promote debate about the current status of missile defence and where it might be heading under a second Bush administration, with or without British support.

President Bush came into office in 2001 committed to deploying missile defence systems 'to protect the United States against attack by rogue states' as a priority. Diverted by the events of 9/11 and the subsequent 'War on Terror' and delayed by technical problems, it is likely that the administration will move quickly to announce an embryonic interceptor battery in Alaska operable very soon.

The UK Missile Defence Centre has been up and running for over a year. What is its function? There has been recent speculation that the UK Government has tacitly agreed to forward-base a US interceptor battery, perhaps near the Fylingdales early warning radar in North Yorkshire, which is already being upgraded for further integration into the US system. The British Government has denied that it has agreed to deploy interceptors on UK territory or that it has any plans for joining the US system to protect Britain against attack.

NATO and the EU are moving ahead with plans for protecting deployed troops without any parliamentary scrutiny or public consultation. The European Space Agency is developing its own advanced communication systems with little debated or understood military applications. The US Missile Defense Agency is planning to deploy new land, sea and air based systems and is considering putting weapons systems in space.

These are the issues that the invited speakers will address at the BASIC/Demos conference on Missile Defence on Tuesday 9 November. The agenda is available at: http://www.basicint.org/nuclear/NMD/2004demos.htm and participation is by advance registration.

Theresa Hitchens, Vice-President Center for Defense Information, Washington DC, will open the conference and answer the two questions: 'Where is the US Missile Defense Agency up to in planning and deployment?' and 'What are the prospects for the next four years following the Presidential Elections?'

Lord Garden, Visiting Professor, Centre for Defence Studies, King's College, London and a former Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff will deliver the keynote address, Missile defence: Political fantasy or military reality?

Musician, record producer and BASIC board member, Brian Eno, will make the closing remarks.

"Given the outcome of the US Presidential and Congress elections and following the speculation and denial of UK involvement in missile defence, it is most timely for us to have the debate now, before the strategic decisions have been made," said conference organiser Nigel Chamberlain.

For further information about the conference, to arrange interviews with any of the speakers or to get a press pass, please call Nigel Chamberlain on 020 7324 4680.