WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 6 Jun 03 Washington, DC

[Susan L Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

Robert Park addresses nuclear policy issues in this week's edition of

What's New.  Happy Friday!



--Susan Gawarecki



WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 6 Jun 03   Washington, DC

                                                       

1. THE PITS: NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW CALLS FOR MODERN PIT FACILITY

According to an environmental impact statement released by the

Department of Energy, the United States is the only nuclear power

that does not have a capability to manufacture plutonium pits

suitable for use in its weapons stockpile.  Plutonium pits were

manufactured at the Rocky Flats Plant in Golden, Colorado until

1989, when the plant was shut down due to environmental and

safety concerns.  Since 1989 DOE has been without a large-scale

capacity to produce plutonium pits.  A small interim capacity is

now being established at Los Alamos that could meet replacement

needs barring some unforseen problem with an entire class of

weapons.   But a classified review of the nuclear posture of the

United States for the next decade, leaked a year ago (WN 15 Mar

02), "confirms that a modern production facility will be required

for large-scale replacement of existing plutonium components [as

part of the Stockpile Stewardship Program], and any production of

new designs"(WN 23 May 03).  Clearly, the US is edging closer and

closer to the production of a new nuclear weapon (WN 23 May 03).



2. IRAQ'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM: U.N. NUCLEAR EXPERTS STILL RESTRICTED.

An Associated Press Story today reports that the U.S. has tried

to keep the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) out of

postwar Iraq.  A team of only seven U.N. experts will be allowed

to assess damage to Iraq's largest nuclear facility by looters. 

But the Pentagon stressed that the IAEA visit would be a one-time

event to enforce the Nonproliferation Treaty, and not a weapons

inspection that might set a precedent for future U.N. searches

for weapons of mass destructions.  Pentagon officials told the

Associated Press that the team would be accompanied at all times

by American troops and weapons experts.  In his address to the

nation on Oct. 7, 2002, President Bush explained the need for

America to take military action in Iraq: "Some believe we can

address this danger by simply resuming the old approach of

inspections and diplomatic and economic pressure.  Yet this is

precisely what the world has tried to do since 1991."  Now it is

the United States that is restricting U.N. access in Iraq.



3. MISSILE DEFENSE: LIMITED TESTING OFFSETS IMMATURE TECHNOLOGY.

A GAO report released Wednesday warns that the decision to deploy

a missile defense system in 2004 invites failure.  The General

Accounting Office is the investigative arm of Congress, which is

controlled by the Republicans.  I knew my friend Puff Panegyric

at the Missile Defense Agency would want to know.  "You've been

misled by the liberal press again," Puff sighed.  "At the Agency,

we're darn proud of what the GAO had to say.  It's testing that

invites failure.  Why would we want to test a technology before

it matures?"  He had me there.  "But the GAO also faulted MDA for

not budgeting for long-term costs," I weakly responded.  "That's

not criticism," Puff snorted, "the Pentagon always low-balls cost

estimates.  It's made us the most powerful nation in the world."



THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND and THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY.  

Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the

University or the American Physical Society, but they should be.

---

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-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

102 Robertsville Road, Suite B, Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Toll free 888-770-3073 ~ www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................

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