White House Whines for More Nukes
Bush: Gimmi more nukes
Dems: Develop a strategy first
In a June 20, 2007 Reuters article, writer Richard Cowan reports that the U.S. House of Representatives has “moved to block President George W. Bush from developing a new generation of atomic warheads.”
Hat tip to Congress.
Cowan writes that “A fiscal 2008 bill funding Department of Energy weapons programs that is moving through the House provided none of Bush’s nearly $89 million request for continuing to develop the new warheads over the next few decades at a multibillion-dollar cost.”
A vote on the bill has been delayed until after Independence Day.
How can the White House and State Department continue to pressure other nations to give up their nuclear weapon programs while pushing for more nuclear weapons here at home?
The Bush administration argues that we could replace older nuclear weapons with newer, safer to maintain warheads. Others say that modifying our current arsenal is more prudent.
Cowan reports Democratic Rep. Peter Visclosky as stating, “I don’t think it is asking too much for a comprehensive nuclear strategy before we build a new nuclear weapon”
Republicans are also distrusting of the promises and decisions made by the White House.
Republican Rep. David Hobson states in the article that “The concept of RRW (Reliable Replacement Warhead) has merit if it allows us to have a smaller stockpile of more reliable weapons … all we have right now is a vague promise.”
A vague promise and no strategy. Where have we heard that before?
The White House whined, stating it “strongly opposes the committee’s decision to eliminate funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead.”
Yes, the creation of new nuclear weapons has a new euphemistic acroynm, RRW.
According to the Nuclear Weapon Archive, “The total number of warheads of all levels of readiness stands at 9,962 warheads.”
With almost 10,000 nuclear warheads at readiness, an effort to suspend nuclear programs of other countries, a military stretched to a breaking point, an untrustworthy Executive Branch, and a President with poll numbers lower than dirt, the last thing we need right now is a focus on the creation of more nuclear warheads.
“If we fight a war and win it with H-bombs, what history will remember is not
the ideals we were fighting for but the methods we used to accomplish them.” -Hans A. Bethe
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Stumble it!
Who the heck are they trying to kid? Nuclear deterrents went out of style in 1989! I think the house dems were great to block this, but I think they failed to make as big a deal out of de-nuking amerika as they should have. Where are we ever going to send nearly 10,000 NUCLEAR WEAPONS? The deterrent effect works with one nuke (ask north korea) and there aren’t 10,000 places to send them on the entire planet. Obliterating cities doesn’t stop terrorists, it just gives ‘em hope that they’ll one day get their hands on a big enough bomb to *really* piss off the entire peace-loving world. The only thing I remember as good about the 80’s was all the talk about nuclear disarmament, and now here we go with idiot-boy-wonder-george and talking about newer, more reliable, WMD’s. What, he just can’t bear the thought that maybe when he wants to blow up a whole civilization, there’s a 3% chance that one of the bombs will be a dud and a few of them will survive?