Those of us fortunate enough to serve as elected officials grow accustomed to scrutiny and occasional criticisms from the media, but the ad hominem attack hurled my way by The Star (Stockpile woes, Dec. 10, 2001) went beyond the normal give and take of public debate. Had the editorial staff bothered to contact my office to inquire about the subject of their derision (or perhaps even read the amendment in question, admittedly a novel concept for those who are paid to read and write), perhaps the Star could have avoided peddling misinformation.
First the facts. The amendment which I offered and the Senate unanimously supported does nothing to slow down the destruction program in Kentucky, Alabama or any other state that plays host to these deadly stockpiles. Let's face it, even The Star should be able to recognize that the Army has taken care of that on its own.
My amendment merely directs the Army to review existing plans for disassembly and neutralization of the stockpiles. These plans were developed years ago as options for a time when it became necessary to eliminate the stockpiles quickly.
I feel strongly, and my guess is that readers of The Star agree, that the time is now. The continued glacial pace of the Army's mismanaged program means that the majority of our national stockpile will not be destroyed prior to the April 2007 Chemical Weapons Convention deadline, and could remain a threat for more than a decade. Further, the events of Sept. 11 remind us all of the dangers that lurk in these earthen bunkers.
Rather than closing my eyes to reality as The Star seems poised to do, I propose that we take action to determine if methods exist to eliminate the risk of continued storage of these weapons. If solutions do exist, we should implement them. If they do not, we should redouble our efforts to ensure that the Army safely and quickly disposes of the stockpiles.
In the future I hope The Star will rely on facts rather than shallow political bias in its coverage of this important issue. Your readers deserve no less.
