The Nation - News from Sept. 8, 1988

The director of the Strategic Defense Initiative program has a new proposal that would cut its budget substantially while retaining the Administration’s goal of deployment in space, the New York Times reported in today’s editions. The plan by Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson seeks to continue development of the controversial space-based missile defense system by simplifying the design of its weapons, the newspaper said. Abrahamson, who has directed the program since its inception five years ago, said the proposed changes would cut tens of billions of dollars from the project known as “Star Wars,” which has an estimated annual cost of nearly $120 billion. Abrahamson told the newspaper that costs can be reduced through changes in a few major components, including modifications to the space-based anti-missile rockets, the most expensive part of SDI.