Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has ordered a $60 billion cut in spending [1] over the next five years. The Joint Chiefs of Staff should trade in their old, high-cost nuclear bombs for cash required to buy the effective conventional equipment they need.
The grim reality is that with regard to the budget we have entered a zero-sum game. Every defense dollar diverted to fund excess or unneeded capacity - whether for more F-22s or anything else - is a dollar that will be unavailable to take care of our people, to win the wars we are in, to deter potential adversaries, and to improve capabilities in areas where America is underinvested and potentially vulnerable. That is a risk I cannot accept and I will not take.
We have more than enough nuclear weapons for any conceivable military mission. As Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, said last week in a speech at U.S. Strategic Command [4]:
Quite simply, maintaining a large nuclear arsenal dedicated to perform a wide range of missions is unnecessary and contrary to the United States security interest. The number and role of U.S. nuclear weapons should be strictly limited to what is essential and unique...
Yesterday's nuclear doctrines and arsenals do not fit today's realities.
If Secretary Gates is looking to save money and make us safer, there is no better place to start than by eliminating the security liabilities we promote in our arsenal of nuclear clunkers.
Links
[1] http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000003179170
[2] http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1369
[3] http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=22601
[4] http://www.armscontrol.org/node/3779
[5] http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f64x2k3716wq9613/fulltext.pdf
[6] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/shatter031598a.htm
[7] http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/23/nation/na-bomber23
[8] http://www.nti.org/e_research/STB08_Executive_Summary.pdf
[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-cirincione/cash-for-nuclear-clunkers_b_250447.html