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original of x6604/72
60 ft devcolsilpos with separate track
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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: THIS IS A MINUTEMAN MISSILE SITE.

THE MISSILE IS UNDER GROUND.

THERE ARE A THOUSAND OF THESE. OFFENSIVE MISSILES...AT BASES IN THE NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES.

THE FIRST MINUTEMAN SYSTEM WENT ON ALERT ALMOST TEN YEARS AGO. SINCE THAT TIME THERE HAVE BEEN MANY IMPROVEMENTS. THE MISSILES AT THIS BASE, IN NORTH DAKOTA, FOR EXAMPLE, WENT OPERATIONAL IN 1966. THEY ??ON WILL BE REPLACED WITH THE LATEST MODEL.

MINUTEMAN IS AN INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE, WITH A RANGE OF 6 THOUSAND MILES. THE NEWEST ONES CAN HIT 3 SEPARATE TARGETS WITH NUCLEAR WARHEADS.

THE STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TREATY WILL FREEZE THE FORCE AT PRESENT LEVELS...BUT WILL PERMIT THE REPLACEMENT OF OLDER MISSILES...GIVING THE UNITED STATES THE CAPABILITY OF LAUNCHING MORE THAN 2 THOUSAND NUCLEAR BOMBS. FROM BASES IN THE U.S.

SOT: THIS IS AN ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE SITE...ONE OF 2 UNDER CONSTRUCTION. WORK BEGAN, HERE IN NORTH DAKOTA, MORE THAN 2 YEARS AGO AND THIS SITE IS SUPPOSED TO BE OPERATIONAL BY THE END OF 1974.

NEAL: (VO) WORK WILL CONTINUE. ON THESE ??? MISSILES..HERE AT ???...BUT, AT THE 2ND SITE, NEAR MALMSTROM, MONTANA, UNDER TERMS OF THE TREATY, IT WILL BE STOPPED AND THAT SITE WILL BE ELIMINATED...LEAVING MUCH OF THE MINUTEMAN FORCE UNPROTECTED.

INSTEAD, THE TREATY PERMITS A NEW ABM SITE...NEAR WASHINGTON, D.C. THIS WILL SPLIT THE FORCE BETWEEN MISSILE...AND CITY DEFENSE, AT WIDELY SEPARATED LOCATIONS.

THE EFFECT OF ALL THIS...WILL BE TO KEEP DEFENSIVE MISSILE STRENGTH AT VERY LOW LEVELS.

RN, NBC NEWS, GRAND FORKS, N.D.