Pacifica Commentary for May 16, 2003

Hello, this is Blase Bonpane with a comment.

It is time to awaken your Members of Congress from sleep. Insist that they stop the spread of the most dangerous weapons in history by blocking funding for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator and also preserving the ban of mini-nukes.

U.S. development of so-called usable nuclear weapons undermines U.S. demands that other countries not seek to acquire nuclear weapons. If the U.S. will not lay down its nuclear weapons and stop developing new ones, why should anyone else-especially those that feel most threatened by the new U.S. policy of preventive war?

Since the end of the Cold War, some civilian military planners and nuclear scientists have argued for creating a new class of earth-penetrating nuclear weapons. These weapons are sometimes referred to as "bunker busters" because they would be designed to burrow into the ground to destroy underground military facilities that are protected by 100 to 300 feet of concrete or rock. The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator would use an existing nuclear weapon, redesigned for use against underground bunkers. It would have a yield of over 100 kilotons, at least seven times the size of the Hiroshima bomb.

Proponents of this monstrosity claim that, because the weapon penetrates the earth before detonating, it would be a "clean" nuclear weapon. In reality, this would be an extremely "dirty" and deadly weapon. If detonated in an urban setting, tens of thousands of people could receive a fatal dose of radiation within the first 24 hours. More would be killed or injured by the extreme pressures of the blast and thermal injuries arising from the heat of the explosion. Still more casualties would result from the fires and the collapse of buildings from the seismic shock that the explosion would produce.

Nuclear weapons proponents are also continuing to urge the development of a low-yield (approximately five kiloton) weapon, termed a "mini-nuke," which might be used against a buried bunker or on the battlefield. It is time to demand of your Senators and your Member of the House of Representatives a firm NO to the proposed and illegal Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator and a firm NO to the propsed illegal mini nukes.

The blowback from our ill-fated occupation of Iraq has already begun in Saudi Arabia, The blowback from our proposed violation of international nuclear prohibitions could be the end of life on the planet.

The lawlessness of the current administration in the United States must not be given further approval by the Congress of the United States. Make it clear to your legislators that you expect them to respect the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. Failure to respect this treaty will simply encourage other nations to follow our lawless behavior.

This policy could be in the House and Senate by next week. Make that wake up call today. No Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators and No mini-nukes either!

For a free copy of this commentary call 323/852-9808…323/852-9808.

This is Blase Bonpane.