THE United States military establishment is firmly behind the so-called Son Of Star Wars project. It will increase the generals' budgets by many billions of dollars and give them some mighty fine new hardware to play with.

But their justification for the National Missile Defence system (NMD) on strategic defence grounds was today shot down by one of their own.

Retired Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll is no placard-waving peace protester. He is a military man, and a patriotic American to boot. The former US Navy pilot was trained to fly aircraft armed with nuclear missiles.

So when Mr Carroll demolishes all his former bosses' arguments for NMD in one precision strike, we should all take notice.

On a visit to RAF Fylingdales, which US defence chiefs need to act as an early warning station for Son Of Star Wars, the ex-admiral did not hold his fire.

He quickly destroyed America's claim that the system was needed to protect it from the threat of "rogue states". But by embarking on this extravagant folly and re-igniting the arms race, the US was threatening world peace, he added.

Mr Carroll confirmed residents' worst fears by saying an NMD outpost at Fylingdales would make North Yorkshire a nuclear target. Even to a civilian, the logic is chillingly clear. Any nation that was considering a strike against the US would first need to sabotage Son of Star Wars. The easiest way to do this would be to take out undefended Fylingdales, and North Yorkshire along with it.

This threat might be a little more palatable if Britain's involvement in NMD strengthened our defences. But the project protects one nation only: the United States.

William Hague has happily put his beloved Yorkshire on the line by backing NMD. More ominously, it looks as if Tony Blair is preparing to sign up.

Mr Blair must listen to Mr Carroll and think again. We should not place British lives at risk to quell American paranoia. That is not a 'special relationship' - it is servitude.

Updated: 11:11 Friday, February 09, 2001