New Zealand Man Says U.S. Pressure Stopped His Missile Project

A New Zealand Internet journalist has said that his amateur cruise missile development effort was stopped by the New Zealand government because of U.S. pressure, the BBC News reported today (see GSN, Dec. 8).

“The New Zealand government at first said I had done nothing illegal. But then a U.S. official was quoted as saying it was ‘extremely unhelpful,’” Bruce Simpson said (see GSN, June 4). “The authorities here finally decided to bankrupt me over a tax debt and I have now had to give the missile to a friend for safekeeping,” he added.

Simpson said, however, that he has proven his point “that by using off-the-shelf technology in a suburban garage a terrorist can create a weapon against which there is no effective defense” (BBC News, Dec. 9).

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