Mike Thompson: “last May, in the wake of India's nuclear weapons tests, the Senate rejected by one vote a motion to allow us to consider…”

“last May, in the wake of India's nuclear weapons tests, the Senate rejected by one vote a motion to allow us to consider the need for a national missile defense. At that time I came to the floor and urged my colleagues to support defending our nation against missile attack. I recalled how the President, in his State of the Union address, underscored the importance of foresight and the need to prepare ``for a far off storm.'' The President wasn't talking about weapons proliferation and national missile defense, but I suggested he should have been--and that the thunder clouds of proliferation were gathering. Since that vote in May, the storm has picked up force and is not so ``far off.'' That weapons proliferation is a serious threat to our nation is more obvious today that even a few month ago. Allow me to remind my colleagues of a few developments since the Senate last considered missile defense: Following India's nuclear tests, Pakistan conducted six of its own tests. The South Asian subcontinent--rife with smoldering disputes--is now perched on the edge of a nuclear arms race. The following month, in June, North Korea blatantly announced that it was selling, and would continue to sell, ballistic missiles to any and all comers. The only requirement is cash on the barrel-head. In July, the Congress received stark warning of our under- preparedness from the Rumsfeld Commission.”