Date of Award
5-1992
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Abstract
The political issues surrounding the deployment and dismantlement of the Safeguard antiballistic missile system and the impact that this Safeguard system had on the communities of northeastern North Dakota are shrouded in controversy. In this paper, the history of the Safeguard complex is reviewed; however, primary attention is devoted to the 1976 Congressional decision to dismantle the Safeguard Complex at Nekoma, North Dakota and the effects it had on the surrounding communities. This thesis analyzes the arguments of the proponents and opponents of the Safeguard deployment and dismantlement. The study concludes that the final decision of the Congress to dismantle the Safeguard Complex was based on several reasons which included: technology, cost, and arms control. In addition, a special emphasis is placed on the turn-over in membership within the Senate and a "slight-tinge" of partisan politics. The second part of this study concludes that the local communities were adversely affected by the "no-notice" closure of the Safeguard Complex
Recommended Citation
Harler, Douglas H., "The antiballistic missile system: North Dakota's "safeguard"" (1992). Theses and Dissertations. 6618.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/6618
