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May 14, 2004
"Useable" nukes are no such thing
From TrueMajority:
Last year, TrueMajority and a whole group of other organizations urged Congress to stop funding the nuclear "bunker buster" bomb. The budget was cut in half. Now the Bush administration is trying to get it funded again.
Tell Congress the answer is still NO.
The chairman of our Military Advisory Committee, Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan (USN, ret.) literally had his finger on the button. Here's what he's got to say:
I used to command ships armed with nuclear weapons. The idea was that if pushed to the wall, my fleet could wipe out Soviet submarines and bombers using some nuclear depth charges and nuclear surface to air missiles without igniting a full-scale nuclear holocaust.
We all knew that it was hogwash. First, these so-called "battlefield" nukes were so powerful that using them would kill my own sailors. Second, once we went nuclear, there was no way the Soviets wouldn't also. And third, nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction and simply immoral to use. President Bush the elder eventually scuttled battlefield nukes, and Congress made it illegal to create new "mini-nukes" in 1993 when it passed the Spratt-Furse provision.
Now Pres. Bush the younger and Congress repealed that ban and are working to create a whole new generation of what they're now calling "useable" nukes. The "bunker buster" is the first in a long line of projects that would start
up production of nuclear weapons.
This is not the time for our country to build new nuclear weapons, having signed the global Non-Proliferation Treaty with over a hundred other nations. It'd be hard to complain that countries like North Korea shouldn't build new nuclear weapons when the Bush Administration proposes doing the very same thing. And giving more "useable nukes" to this trigger-happy White House might result in America actually launching nuclear weapons in the heat of the next pre-emptive war.
Do the world a favor, send Congress faxes telling them you think no nuke is a good nuke and they shouldn't try to build any. Just click this link.
Then send this email to your friends and ask them to do the same.
Thanks,
Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan (Ret.)
Background on the Bunker Buster:
The multimillion dollar Robust Nuclear Earth
Penetrator, designed for use against underground bunkers would have explosive power up to 70 times that of the Hiroshima bomb. Its supporters say it's a "clean" nuclear weapon because it penetrates the earth before detonating. In reality, if it were detonated in a city, tens of thousands of people could receive a fatal dose of radiation. More people would be killed or injured by the extreme pressures of the blast and thermal injuries. Still more would die from fires and buildings collapsing from the seismic shock. For more information visit www.wand.org.
See how spending on nuclear weapons could be better invested in your community, visit TrueMajority.
Here is the letter we'll send to your Members of Congress:
Dear [we'll fill in your representative's name here]:
To make our nation more secure, please eliminate all funds for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, also known as the bunker buster. New U.S. nuclear weapons will make us less safe by encouraging other countries to rely on nuclear weapons for their security. We need to reduce reliance on the most horrific weapons ever created and make global disarmament our priority.
Please the take money under consideration for this program and spend it on schools, humanitarian foreign aid or health care to build real national security.
Sincerely,
[We'll put your name and address here]
Posted by Chris at May 14, 2004 09:11 AM