The Department of Defense has asked Congress to abolish the Spratt–Furse provision, a nine-year-old ban on developing new nuclear weapons below 5-kiloton yields. Meanwhile, the Air Force has made a bid for more funding for a separate, new high-yield nuclear weapon to destroy deeply buried, hardened bunkers. The requests are part of the Bush administration’s 2004 budget proposal (see the story on page 30). The development of tactical nuclear weapons—high- or low-yield—and the recent mandate that the US Strategic Command take charge of the full range of warfare options for combating foreign weapons of mass destruction increase the likelihood that nuclear weapons will be used, say critics.
The US has not manufactured a new nuclear weapon since 1990. Lifting the ban is supported by the majority of Republicans in Congress, who say they want flexibility in guaranteeing US security. Most of the Democrats oppose the ban, fearing it will...
