[Peace-discuss] Fwd: {Spam?} Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator

Wed Jun 11 12:12:07 CDT 2003

>From: "Info at NRDI" <info at nrdi.org>
>To: "info" <info at nrdi.org>
>Subject: {Spam?} Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator
>Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 12:44:45 -0400
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>Friends,
>
>Congress will have a debate on funding for the Robust Nuclear Earth 
>Penetrator during the week of June 23. The following information from the 
>Friends Committee on National Legislation describes the issue.
>
>Thank you for your commitment.
>
>Richard Killmer
>Nuclear Reduction/Disarmament Initiative
>Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy
>
>FCNL LEGISLATIVE ACTION MESSAGE -06/05/03
>
>The following action items from the Friends Committee on National 
>Legislation (FCNL) focus on federal policy issues currently before 
>Congress or the Administration.
>
>TOPIC: BLOCK FUNDING FOR A NEW NUCLEAR BUNKER BUSTER
>
>BLOCK FUNDING FOR A NEW NUCLEAR BUNKER BUSTER:  In late May, the House and 
>Senate approved their respective versions of the annual military 
>("defense") authorization bill.  Within these bills is a provision that 
>would authorize continued funding for research on a new "bunker buster" 
>nuclear weapon, called the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP).  The 
>Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for the design, development, and 
>testing of U.S. nuclear weapons.  Before DOE can move forward with 
>research on the RNEP, the funds must be appropriated by Congress. Spending 
>for DOE nuclear weapons programs is decided in the annual energy and water 
>appropriations bill.  The full House is expected to take up that bill by 
>the week of June 23rd.
>
>Rep. Markey (MA) will offer a floor amendment to delete the funds for the 
>RNEP when the energy and water appropriations bill reaches the House 
>floor.  It is still possible for the appropriators to delete funds for 
>this new nuclear weapon.  Members of Congress need to continue hearing 
>from constituents that stopping nuclear bunker buster research is key to 
>future U.S. security and U.S. nonproliferation efforts worldwide.
>
>ACTION:  Please contact your representative.  Urge him or her to vote to 
>block funding for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) when the 
>energy and water appropriations bill reaches the floor of the House. 
>Investing in the research of new nuclear weapons will send the wrong 
>signal to the rest of the world.  In the long run, it will undermine U.S. 
>security.
>
>CONTACTING YOU REPRESENTATIVE IS EASY:  Start with the sample letter 
>posted in our Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then 
>email or fax your message directly from our site.  You can also print it 
>out and mail it.  To view the sample letter, click on the link below, then 
>scroll down to the bottom of the Alert.  Here is the link: 
><<http://capwiz.com/fconl/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=2479491>http://capwiz.com/fconl/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=2479491>.
>
>BACKGROUND: On May 20 and 21, 2003, The House and Senate debated and 
>passed their respective versions of the fiscal year 2004 defense 
>authorization bill, HR 1588/S 1050. This annual bill authorizes funds for 
>the Defense Department and for the nuclear weapons activities of the 
>Energy Department.  One of the issues that most concerned nuclear 
>disarmament advocates was funding for research on the Robust Nuclear Earth 
>Penetrator (RNEP).  After a heated debate, both the House and Senate 
>authorized $15 million for research on the RNEP.
>
>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 Energy Department's budget request includes 
>$15 million to continue a study on the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator 
>(RNEP).  The RNEP would use an existing nuclear weapon, redesigned for use 
>against underground bunkers.  It would have a yield around seventy times 
>the size of the Hiroshima bomb.
>
>RNEP proponents 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.
>
>The U.S. has strongly criticized North Korea, Iran, and Libya for moving 
>to obtain equipment to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials and the 
>ability to deliver them as nuclear bombs.  The U.S. government has also 
>expressed concerns about continuing nuclear programs in Pakistan and 
>India, as well as growing concern that nuclear materials could fall into 
>the hands of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda.  U.S. development of 
>so-called usable nuclear weapons undermines U.S. demands that these 
>countries not seek to acquire nuclear weapons.
>
>Why is the Administration abandoning cooperative international arms 
>control efforts and instead seeking to develop new 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?
>
>Building the nuclear "bunker buster" or RNEP, will further weaken already 
>struggling international efforts to halt the spread of nuclear 
>weapons.  U.S. influence with the international community will erode 
>further if it seeks to upgrade U.S. nuclear weapons while demanding that 
>other countries such as Iran and North Korea disarm.  Dr. Mohamed 
>ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, recently 
>said that, instead of developing new nuclear weapons, the U.S. should send 
>a message to potential proliferators that "[e]ven though we have nuclear 
>weapons, we are moving to get rid of them.  We are going to develop a 
>system of security that does not depend on nuclear weapons because that's 
>the way we want the world to move."
>
>The Administration is leading the world down the wrong path. Instead of 
>adhering to our obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
>
>(NPT) by reducing reliance on the most horrific weapons ever created and 
>working for global disarmament, the Administration is seeking new uses for 
>nuclear weapons. Adopting such a nuclear posture is a step backward, and a 
>virtual invitation for other nations to opt out of their NPT obligations 
>as well.
>
>More background information about nuclear weapons and disarmament can be 
>found on FCNL's web site at: 
><<http://www.fcnl.org/issues/arm/cntrl_nuclear-weapons.htm>http://www.fcnl.org/issues/arm/cntrl_nuclear-weapons.htm>.
>
>CONTACTING LEGISLATORS
>Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
>
>Sen. ________
>U.S. Senate
>Washington, DC 20510
>
>Rep. ________
>U.S. House of Representatives
>Washington, DC 20515
>
>Information on your members is available on FCNL's web site: 
><http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq>http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq
>
>CONTACTING THE ADMINISTRATION
>
>White House Comment Desk: 202-456-1111
>FAX: 202-456-2461
>E-MAIL: <mailto:president at whitehouse.gov>president at whitehouse.gov
>WEB PAGE: <http://www.whitehouse.gov>http://www.whitehouse.gov
>
>President George W. Bush
>The White House
>Washington, DC 20500
>
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>contact FCNL.
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