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Rumsfeld wants to restore bunker busters
US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld has asked for the restoration of a supersecret research program designed to create a new type of nuclear weapon capable of destroying hardened underground targets.Mr Rumsfeld made the request in a letter sent to then energy secretary Spencer Abraham on January 10, in which he insisted funds for studying the feasibility of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) be restored, a Pentagon official said today. "The defence department does support completion of the penetrator study," department spokesman Major Paul Swiergosz said. "We can't necessarily match Cold War weapons to the new threats. We have to adapt capabilities that we have to meet the threats." A spokesman for the energy department, which runs US nuclear weapons research, declined to say what the response would be. Samuel Bodman replaced Mr Abraham on January 11. Military experts said they were expecting a new attempt by the administration of President George W. Bush to revive the "bunker buster" nuclear weapons program shelved by Congress late last year under growing international and domestic criticism. Republican David Hobson, who chairs an appropriations sub-committee in the House of Representatives, quietly removed $US27.5 million ($35.4m) earmarked for the bomb study from a mammoth spending bill that was being rushed through Congress. The White House apparently made an election-year decision not to hold up the Budget because of one contentious item, and let it pass. But the Pentagon wanted the money back because the bomb could be useful against underground enemy weapons depots and command posts, Maj Swiergosz said. "I think we should request funds in (fiscal years 2006 and 2007) to complete the study," Mr Rumsfeld wrote to Mr Abraham, according to published excerpts of the letter, the accuracy of which was confirmed by the spokesman. "Our staffs have spoken about funding the (RNEP) study to support its completion by April 2007." Mr Rumsfeld also assured Mr Abraham and his successor they could count on his support for "your efforts to revitalise the nuclear weapons infrastructure and to complete the RNEP study". The program, involving leading US nuclear weapons laboratories such as Los Alamos and Livermore, sought to find the possibility of converting into bunker busters two existing warheads — the B61 and B83, according to administration officials. The B61 is a tactical thermonuclear gravity bomb that can be delivered by strategic as well as tactical aircraft — from B-52 and B-2 bombers to F-16 fighter jets. The B83 is designed for precision delivery from very low altitudes, most likely by B-2 stealth bombers, military experts said. Prior to the program's suspension, scientists were working on finding ways to harden the bombshells so they could survive penetration through layers of rock, steel and concrete before detonating, the experts said. Bunker busters are seen by some experts as important tools for waging preventive wars against enemies that are secretly building arsenals of weapons of mass destruction. At least 10,000 bunkers exist in more than 70 countries around the world, the Defense Intelligence Agency said. More than 1400 of the bunkers were used as strategic storage sites for weapons of mass destruction, concealed launch pads for ballistic missiles as well as leadership or top-echelon command and control posts, the agency said. However, International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei warned this week the bunker buster program was sending "the wrong message" and could hinder international non-proliferation efforts. "You can't tell everyone 'don't touch nuclear weapons' while continuing to build them," Mr El Baradei said in an interview with The Washington Post and Newsweek. Posted by: God Save The World 2005-02-02 |
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