“? Don’t neutrons leave the architechture and expend the personnel?”
Yes.
And (on the very long odds) if Israel used one, it would be a way
to send a message “Scientists of the world: don’t help rogue regimes”.
And I’ve got to eat crow if Wikipedia is correct.
Sounds like Reagan revived the neutron bomb program; all have now
been destroyed/moved from US inventory. I INCORRECTLY thought Carter
had stopped production and it wasn’t resumed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_bomb
Development was subsequently cancelled by President Jimmy Carter
in 1978, but again restarted by President Ronald Reagan in 1981.[3]
Three types were built by the United States[4]. The W66 warhead
for the anti-ICBM Sprint missile system was produced and deployed
in the mid 70s and retired soon thereafter along with the missile system.
The W70 Mod 3 warhead was developed for the short-range, tactical Lance
missile, and the W79 Mod 0 was developed for artillery shells.
The latter two types were retired by President George Bush in 1992
due to the end of the Cold War.[5][6] The last W70 Mod 3 warhead was
dismantled in 1996[7], and the last remaining neutron bomb (W79 Mod 0)
was dismantled by 2003 when the dismantling of all W79 variants was
completed.[8].
It’s a crying shame, too, but I suppose it was thought that a conventional confrontation in Europe with U.S.S.R. heavy armor would have been the primary opportunity for the neutron bomb. It would help to put a few back in our arsenal if for no other reason than as a deterrent, given the way the world has (again) changed...