European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 26, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Inside stripes d army hoping $45 part can keep Bradley afloat Page 2 d wandering garbage set Tor burning Page 5 d military food fair to offer big savings Page 16 the a and Fries goal Ullic than Foft to . Vol. 46, no 130 wednesday August 26, 1987 fld Ioctl d 0693 a air Force defends my Best missile system Ever developed Washington a the air Force is calling the my " he Best missile system Ever As it defends lie weapon against a critical report written by a democratic controlled House committee. We have a reliable and accurate missile said Brig. Gen. Charles May jr., Deputy director of advanced programs for the air Force. May held a news conference monday to reply to a report issued Over the weekend by the House armed services committee. Instead of being complimented for the Best missile system Ever developed in the history of the United slates we re being criticized for not being perfect May said. We believe the conclusions in the committee s statement Are erroneous and a Public statement is required to set the record straight. Rep Les aspire d-wis., chairman of House armed services committee was out of washing when the report was issued. A spokesman in said Aspin had no plans for an i Aspin issued the report in the congressional summer recess. There Are no defect Eia system that justify a giant on the missile s capability said military s preferred name for the 10-v/ajjjffkucleat weapon. The do arts a replay of hearings held earlier in the Jpn iwo subcommittees of the armed services Bittle during which Aspin and other critics at tacked he weapon and air Force officials defended in. The dispute involves the guidance system that directs the missile to its targets. Aspin and the commute say the system is not As accurate As it could a but May said the guidance system is far More accurate than had been expected when the weapon was first built. The accuracy of nuclear tipped missiles is measured by the so called circular error probable or Cep. Cep number is the radius of the Circle in we percent of a weapon s warheads Are Sunmi. Ii is essentially a method of of a nuclear bulls Eye. The exact figure for Apps determined by the air Force and Isepp soil is difficult to reconcile de that we seem 10 just 1 7 test lights thus far 82 percent of the warheads have fallen within the 50 percent Cep Cir Cle which is 32 percent better than the requirement. This is an a plus using anyone s calculations May said referring to Aspin s statement that the weapon s accuracy should be graded a " thus far he air Force has completed 1 7 of the 20 planned tests. A dozen of the tests involved guidance systems built for test purposes while he other five used slightly different production models. May admitted that the five production Model shots were not As accurate As those with test models but said see my on Page 28 air Force Brig. Gen Charles May or. Reagan message aired on Contra radio san Jose Costa Rica a presi Dent Reagan gave a speech on the con ires Clandestine radio station assuring he rebels lha their struggle against Nicaragua s leftist government has and Al ways will have our Reagan s unusual message broadcast three Days before he is 10 meet with con tra rebels in los Angeles was heard in parts of Nicaragua despite the sandinista government s jamming of the rebels radio liberation. It was also heard faintly in neighbouring Costa Rica. The free minute taped address was scheduled 0 be broadcast three times monday night and two limes tuesday. Listeners heard Reagan speak in English Frau followed by a Spanish translation. The talk addressed a peace plan signed by five Central american presidents including nicaraguan president Daniel or Tega in Guatemala on aug. 7. One of the plan s provisions is an end to foreign support for insurgent movements in the Region. Reagan did not reject the Accord but questioned the sandinista commitment toil. We will be helping the democratic leaders of Central America and your countrymen inside Nicaragua As they seek a diplomatic solution to the War that has befallen your country Reagan told his listeners. But we will remain firm in our policy. Our objective remains the same peace and democracy in Cen trial America. Your struggle has and always will have our support because our goal is the same Reagan told his listeners. The president said that in signing the Accord the sandinista have agree that the repression must Stop Al the same time the fighting he said the sandinista have told us that before but no one believes the sandinista any More. Simultaneity must mean Freedom up front or no Deal Reagan a former broadcaster who communicates regularly with he Ameri can people via radio taped he message saturday at his ranch 20 Miles North of Sania Barbara calif., said presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. Onega s chief spokesman Manuel Espinoza was asked Laic monday for an official reaction to the speech. Espinoza said he could Only say hat Ortega was to announce tuesday the membership of a National reconciliation commission called for in the peace plan to Monitor government compliance with the Accord. The commission will be made up of one government official one outstand ing citizen not affiliated with the government or ruling party and one representative each of the roman Catholic Church and the political opposition. Catholic leaders and Heads of the 11 registered opposition panics have nominated slates of candidates from which Ortega will choose the commission Mem Ber. Downpours cause havoc Western euro about 20,000 people were evacuated from 21 Vil-m1lan, Italy a some of the heaviest rainfall wept away by the Waters of a this Century left parts of Northern Italy France Bel Gium Switzerland and Austria struggling i h floods Lages in Val Tellma after authorities Laie monday night declared a state of emergency As Waters Rose in in an artificial Lake that Wason tuesday. Authorities blamed seven deaths on the meteorologists said a clash Between Arctic and Afri during previous bad can currents created he storms no unusual in Europe during late teas four people were reported missing. Floods and landslides which but the Quantity of ram was absolutely exception the missing included two teen agers near Parma re than 30 people in july and Early August. Al said Franca Chi Slovsky an official of Milan where a Bridge collapsed Over a swollen Stream. Ambulances buses and vans on tuesday earned people were missing in the Southern a resident of villages South of he artificial Lake to safer she reported that ram ranging from 5.6 inches to 7.8 Tyrol where authorities report inches fell in some parts of Northern Italy m 24 hours. Since the italian weather service began keeping records n Vak Amonica North Brescia be Flash floods and land an elderly couple was killed in he collapse of a three sea downpours on Page 28 tomorrow in stripes 87 schedules. -.,
