U.S. Abandons Nuclear Warhead Project

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173469,00.html ^

[markedmannerf]

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has abandoned research into a nuclear "bunker-buster" warhead, deciding instead to pursue a similar device using conventional weaponry, a key Republican senator said Tuesday.

Sen. Pete Domenici (search), R-N.M., said funding for the nuclear bunker-buster as part of the Energy Department's (search) fiscal 2006 budget has been dropped at the department's request.

The nuclear bunker-buster had been the focus of intense debate in Congress, with opponents arguing that its development as a tactical nuclear weapon could add to nuclear proliferation.

An administration official, speaking on condition on anonymity because negotiations on the department's spending bill have not yet been completed, confirmed that a decision had been made to concentrate on a nonnuclear bunker-buster.

Administration officials have contended the country must try to develop a nuclear warhead that could destroy deeply buried targets including bunkers tunneled into solid rock. Potential adversaries increasingly are building hardened retreats deep beneath the earth, immune to conventional weapons, the officials said.

[markedmannerf]

hmmmm maybe im wrong I dont know how much I like the idea of us scraping the bunker buster. But then again I dont know that much about it

[Steely Tom]

U.S. Abandons Nuclear Warhead Project

Yeah, sure.

[TCats]

IMO a big mistake. The Chicoms will ferret out the classified info and build their own. And what about Iran - How do we get their impervious nuke sites?

[EagleUSA]

Yeah, sure.
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Why would the government even talk about this publicly? Smells of fish and politics.

[SQUID]

Like if this makes any difference to Iran.

[The_Victor]

hmmmm maybe im wrong I dont know how much I like the idea of us scraping the bunker buster

They're just switching the research to a conventional "bunker buster." Probably a smart move, given that nuclear weapons are likely to never be used, but the need to bust hardened targets is very real.

[labette]

Darn right. Don't piddle around with the small stuff.
If it needs nuked, give it a good four or five megatons.

[hschliemann]

...funding for the nuclear bunker-buster as part of the Energy Department's (search) fiscal 2006 budget has been dropped at the department's request.

Energy Dept.???Gee,maybe they'll just move the project to the DoD.What a bunch of morons running our government.

[Herakles]

Freely translated "We need more money for Iraq so some programs have got to go".

I've seen this going on elsewhere in the military and I'm beyond "pretty sure" that the government is deleting research to free up funds for Iraq. The real question is when are we going to stop doing this to our own country's defense based research?

This whole "sacrifice everything for Iraq or else we may lose the war on terror mentality" is starting to make me ill. When are those ungrateful people over there going to start sticking up for themselves so we can leave? I'm wondering if we didn't start another entitlement state where they expect us to be there forever making life nice for them.