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US Senate approves nuke tests
17/09/2003 11:40 - (SA)
Washington - The United States Senate on Tuesday 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.
By a 53-41 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate rejected legislation sponsored by Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
"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.
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."
"This is the wrong direction and, in my view, will only cause America to be placed in greater jeopardy in the future."
10 times Hiroshima
She cited scientific experts who estimate that destroying a target dug 300 metres 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.
"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.
The House of Representatives prohibited using federal funds for small scale nuclear weapons earlier this year.
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.
- AFP
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