WHO wants a shiny new set of nuclear weapons? Hands up, the Bush administration. Who doesn鈥檛? Democrat-controlled Congress.
A just submitted to Congress by the Secretaries of Energy, Defense, and State argues that if the 鈥�Reliable Replacement Warhead鈥� plan isn鈥檛 approved, the US might have to re-test cold war stocks, breaching its moratorium. Critics say the new nukes are not needed and will antagonise other countries. So far, Congress has sided with the critics, slashing the proposed budget and calling for detailed preliminary studies.
Building new weapons and refusing to discuss treaties makes it 鈥渉ard to convince the world we have peaceful intentions鈥�, says Phil Coyle of analyst group the Center for Defense Information.
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鈥淲e have to fulfil our obligations and commitments if we expect non-nuclear parties to cooperate,鈥� says Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association. President Bush has refused to seek ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban signed by former president Bill Clinton.
