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http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/03/19/1016519809236.html The Age (Australia) US plans bunker-busting 'mini-nuke' By Gay Alcorn, United States Correspondent March 20 2002 The Bush administration will begin work on new "bunker-busting" nuclear weapons next month, signalling a dramatically different American approach to nuclear strategy. The White House, while playing down the significance of the Pentagon's leaked Nuclear Posture Review, is pushing ahead with one of its key recommendations: "mini-nukes", or low-yield nuclear weapons that could penetrate hundreds of metres underground to blow up stores of weapons of mass destruction in countries such as Iraq. Mini-nukes are emerging as the most radical change to nuclear policy in at least a decade. They are part of what the USA Today newspaper yesterday reported was a vigorous rejuvenation of the American nuclear program, which has been in decline since 1991, when former president George Bush senior halted development of a short-range attack missile warhead and stopped all nuclear weapons research, including weapons testing, the following year. But the former president's son is pushing forward with new urgency since the terrorist attacks of September 11, in the belief that the threat of a pre-emptive mini-nuke strike could deter so-called "rogue" nations from launching chemical, biological or nuclear attacks. Critics say the approach represents a significant shift from a decade of international consensus that nuclear weapons were so destructive they should never be used as a first-strike option. advertisement advertisement USA Today, citing Energy Department documents, said the administration planned to adopt the Pentagon's recommendation to reassemble teams at the nation's three nuclear weapons laboratories to study the feasibility of mini-nukes and to shorten the time needed to conduct nuclear tests from two years to several months. The United States has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992, and has pressured countries such as India and Pakistan to stop testing their nuclear weapons. The administration says it has no plans to resume testing, but it has not ruled it out. President Bill Clinton signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, but the Senate did not ratify it; the Bush administration opposes it. The National Nuclear Security Administration's deputy administrator for defence programs, Everet Beckner, told the newspaper that designers would work on a $US40 million-$50 million ($80 million-$100 million) "bunker-busting" study and would seek Congress' approval before designing a weapon. The US already has one nuclear weapon that can burrow underground, the B61 Mod 11 gravity bomb, but it is considered unable to penetrate far into hard ground to reach hidden facilities. Part of the rationale for the study is to intellectually challenge America's nuclear scientists, said to be suffering bad morale because there is not enough for them to do. "Nobody wants to work here," a weapons designer at a nuclear laboratory in California, Tom Thomson, told USA Today. "There's no sense of mission." The discussion in the US about specially designed nuclear weapons revolves around their possible use in Iraq, which is believed to have an active biological and chemical, and possibly nuclear, program. Last week, President Bush said "all options", including a nuclear strike, were open to protect the US from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Yesterday, Mr Bush said he understood that Middle Eastern leaders were stressing that the violence between Palestinians and Israelis was more urgent than dealing with Iraq. "I appreciate their advice," he said, "but we will not allow one of the world's most dangerous leaders to have the world's most dangerous weapons and hold the United States and our friends and allies hostage. That's just not going to happen." Gradually, the administration is building a case for action to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Mr Bush's first term. The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper with close links to the defence establishment, reported that military combat units were beginning the steps to prepare for war with Iraq, including updating contingencies and checking readiness levels. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
