- AFP) -- The US Senate rejected a measure that would have
halted the development of "bunker buster" bombs -- small nuclear
weapons created for battlefield use -- while also allowing the resumption
of underground nuclear tests.
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- By a 53-41 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate rejected
legislation sponsored by Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California and Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts.
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- "At the very time when we are urging other nations
to halt their own nuclear weapons programs, the administration is rushing
forward to develop our own new nuclear weapons," said Kennedy, who
warned that a new "nuclear arms race" could result.
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- From the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, Feinstein said:
"By seeking to develop new nuclear weapons ourselves we send a message
that nuclear weapons have a future battlefield role and utility."
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- "This is the wrong direction and, in my view, will
only cause America to be placed in greater jeopardy in the future."
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- She cited scientific experts who estimate that destroying
a target dug 1,000 feet into rock would require a bunker buster nuclear
weapon with a yield of 100 kilotons -- almost 10 times the size of the
bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
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- "We will make our nation and our allies less secure,
not more, if the United States opens the door to the development, testing,
and deployment of new tactical and low-yield nuclear weapons," Feinstein
said.
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- The House of Representatives prohibited using federal
funds for small scale nuclear weapons earlier this year.
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- A moratorium on nuclear tests has been in place in the
United States since 1992, but the White House has said a resumption of
testing is needed to ascertain the reliability of existing weapons.
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