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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, May 26, 2003

EDITORIAL
Does Dr. Strangelove live in our Congress?

In a tentative step away from a 58-year-old nuclear taboo, Congress has voted to fund development of a nuclear "bunker buster" weapon and to repeal a prohibition on research into low-yield nuclear weapons.

Congress put low-yield "mini-nukes" of 5 kilotons or less off-limits in 1993. One reason was that, with the end of the Cold War, no reasonable use for them was then envisioned.

Now it's clear that the Bush administration has found that vision. What used to be unthinkable, the first use of nuclear weapons against countries without nuclear weapons, is now openly contemplated by the Pentagon:

  • The 2001 Nuclear Posture Review suggested the potential for use of nukes against Syria, Libya, Iraq and Iran, as well as against North Korea and China.
  • A 2002 presidential directive made explicit a previously ambiguous policy that the U.S. may respond with nuclear weapons to the use of biological or chemical weapons.
  • Last October, a presidential commission suggested it would be "desirable to assess the potential benefits that could be obtained from a return to nuclear testing."

This path risks blurring the bright line that has existed for nearly six decades between the use of conventional and nuclear weapons.

The cavalier attitude of some in the administration (and in Congress) on this issue is downright dangerous. As long as the U.S. exempts itself from the opprobrium bestowed on nuclear weapons, it will lack the moral authority to bring the rest of the world along.

"If the United States starts down this path (toward new nuclear weapons)," says Hawai'i Sen. Dan Akaka, "Russia will be encouraged to do the same. If Russia begins, maybe China will, too. A new arms race in supposedly low-yield and 'usable' nuclear weapons will result."

As these smaller, more "convenient" weapons become widespread, the chances of their falling into the hands of terrorists increase.

The move to develop smaller nukes sets a dangerous precedent that threatens American and international security. Opponents say they will again try to halt the weapons development when spending bills are debated later this year. We wish them success.