Questions for Debate

The U.S. is headed right up through space toward an annual defense budget of $60 to $70 billion within the next ten years (v. 1958's $39 billion) unless it faces up soon to some basic choices. Next week at the U.S. Marine station at Quantico, Va., 175 of the nation's top military and civilian defense experts will take off coats and jackets, roll up their sleeves to wrestle with the big questions. Items: EURJ How many strategic-weapons systems does the U.S. need to be certain that at least one system will be wholly effective? Currently the U.S. is developing five systems: the Navy's submarine-based Polaris, the intercontinental ballistic missile, the intermediate-range ballistic missile to be based overseas, advanced land-based bombers and carrier-based aircraft. A weapons-systems evaluation group is studying the problem, is scheduled to make recommendations to the Joint Chiefs of Staff by next month. <This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.