Yes, I say we should "think globally"...
Posted on 12/14/2005 8:29:15 AM PST by presidio9
On this remote mesa where the atom bomb was born, a fresh question is in the air: Does the U.S. need new nuclear weapons?
Some 15 years after the Cold War, and at a time when the U.S. is demanding others restrain their nuclear ambitions, the Bush administration thinks the answer is yes. With little notice, it has been pressing Congress to fund research into a new generation of nuclear weapons.
Lawmakers have twice turned down proposals to design a new nuclear "bunker-buster" bomb, to blow up buried caches of weapons. But last month, with little debate, Congress approved $25 million for research into what is supposed to be a sturdier, more reliable warhead than those designed during the Cold War. If the work is successful, the U.S. could someday spend billions of dollars replacing much of the current arsenal.
The U.S. hasn't designed or built a new nuclear warhead since the late 1980s. It hasn't tested one since 1992. U.S. officials say the aging arsenal is becoming increasingly difficult and costly to maintain, and was designed to deter a foe far different from those the U.S. now faces. "You would not create the current stockpile if you were starting now," says Linton Brooks, head of the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the arsenal.
President Bush has committed to deep cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The overall stockpile numbers are classified. But by 2012 the cuts would leave the U.S. with about 2,200 nuclear warheads deployed on long-range launchers, along with some 700 short-range weapons. In addition, the Pentagon is expected to keep some 3,000 backup warheads, as a hedge against technical failures or a resurgent Russia. Mr. Brooks says with a more dependable warhead, along with a revival of the weapons-production complex,
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Could always use a few more. Also, we should resume below ground testing...I read somewhere, cant remember where, there is some concern as to the reliability of our current stockpile.
We could always just test them over Pyongyang...
We have had the bomb for 60 years. We have prove we can be trusted with it. Rouge Regimes like North Korea and Iran have demonstrated via their actions that they CANNOT be trusted with it. This pseudo intellectual "The US should not build Nukes when it is telling other countries not to build nukes" is a product of room temperature intellects who have not evolved beyond the 4th grade. EQUAL is NOT the same thing as JUSTICE. Grow up your childish refugees from the 1960s before your stupidity gets MORE Americans killed like it did on 9-11-01.
Yes, I say we should "think globally"...
But we need this for Iran...
How about "Think Globally, Launch Locally"
Yes, by all means develop some new ones. Really tiny and efficient ones that need minimal maintenance. Ones that can be fired by artillery or by small aircraft. Ones that can obliterate a single neighborhood or village while leaving minimal toxic residue. Then test them publicly on some godforsaken atoll and send the videos to Iran, China and Riyadh.
Let's use some of our aging warheads on Iran/Syria and DPRK.
Does Haliburton make nukes?
Don't build any more nukes right now. Let's use the ones we have first.
This has always been an explosive issue with many in the Media....
More nukes, less kooks.
Yes. Especially speciaized "bunker busting" nukes.
We should test/expend our current stockpile in Pyonyang. Let the midget leader of NK call and let us know how well they worked.
He'll call you and sing:
"I'm so ronery..."
We should build more. We cannot rely on the current ones forever due to aging.
The Neutron Bomb can do that. Jimmy Karter killed the program in the 70s but it should be restarted. With modern technology, they would be even better still. For bunker busting and physical destruction of targets we still need more cconventional nukes. But it is possible to get 97%-98% or more yield from fusion which would make the bombs a lot less dirty.
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