Obama's Nuclear War: At Odds With Gates

Time:

The latest U.S. nuclear showdown doesn't involve any foreign enemy. Instead, it pits President Barack Obama against his Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, and concerns the question of whether America needs a new generation of nuclear warheads. While serving under former President Bush, Gates had repeatedly called for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program to be put into operation, because the nation's current nukes -- mostly produced in the 1970s and 1980s -- are growing so old that their destructive power may be in question.

"The Reliable Replacement Warhead is not about new capabilities, but about safety, reliability and security," Gates said in a speech in the week before last November's election. And in an article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, released in early December after Gates had been tapped by Obama to stay on at the Pentagon, Gates repeated that refrain. "Even though the days of hair-trigger superpower confrontation are over, as long as other nations possess the bomb and the means to deliver it, the United States must maintain a credible strategic deterrent," he wrote. "Congress needs to do its part by funding the Reliable Replacement Warhead Program -- for safety, for security, and for a more reliable deterrent." The RRW basically trades away explosive force for greater assurance that the new warheads would work predictably in the absence of tests, which the U.S. has refrained from conducting for nearly two decades to help advance non-proliferation goals.

Read the whole story: Time

Comments

[Earl]

So how 'bout we just convert 100 of the old ones into the new, more reliable ones, strategically deploy them, and then sh!tcan the other 29,900 of the old ones.

[OMAguy]

Its not that easy Earl, or practical. The engineers have learned a lot more about nuclear weapon design. The W62 is our oldest warhead and was designed in the 60s and deployed in the 70s.

[OMAguy]

To the people that want to show Secretary Gates the door; do you think President Obama wants just yes men around him? I thought we had enough of the Bush crowd that bobble headed our way into the multitude of messes we now face. I'm an Air Force officer that has just gone over 17 years serving our nation and without a doubt Sec Gates is the best SecDef I've yet seen. Please do yourself a favor and read some articles on the common sense he was brought to the Pentagon. It amazes me that Bush somehow made the right decision and appointed him. Sec Gates is correct, our nuclear stockpile is aging and its reliability cannot be assured. Our strategic nuclear forces are purely a deterrent, but a deterrent is only as effective as a nations willingness to use it and that if used would actually work. It would be wonderful to live in a world where such weapons, or any weapon, was not needed, but as long as there are other nations in possession of or trying to acquire these weapons we'd put our nation at a distinct disadvantage by not also possessing them.

[GonzoFactor]

Gates is right on this one. The old arsenal is declining in reliability, costs a bloody fortune to maintain, and needs to be replaced. Not with so many, but with some. Remember, we're not the only nuclear power, and deterrence still matters, though not as much as it used to.

[OMAguy]

We're you agreeing with me Gonzo?

The most expensive part of the Nuclear Triad is the Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles, the Land Based Strategic Deterrent really offers incredible bang for the buck. Also, having an effective nuclear deterrent is more important now than during the cold war as more and more state actors are acquiring longer and longer range delivery systems.

[newshawk14]

I have to agree with Obama on this one, it strikes we as a make work project for Los Alamos that
will have a negligible effect on our nuclear capability. A much more major concern, that Obama
and Senator Lugar have addressed, is insuring the security of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

[Yves Papa]

Good job Barack. We should get rid of all that garbage before to many get it and someone makes a mistake.

[Sammy00400]

Gates does have a point but we have alot more than we need anyways. So trade away and dismantle the old ones with some kind of agreement with Russia and keep the newer ones.

Besides, as for whether or not they all still work %100.... any nation out there wants to take that chance as a target raise your hand.

[rasit]

But, we all know who the boss is....he will decide, after listening to all sides of this issue....

Right now, though, we need to fix our economy first, otherwise there won't be anything left to protect....

[DofG]

It is always difficult to assuage those who operate out of fear, or those who operate out of the age old falsity that we are the center of the universe. However, given the fact that we-the United States of America, opened Pandora's Box for the sake of an expedient end to WWII, and maybe, more importantly, to trumpet the dawn of our military supremacy, we have now convinced ourselves, there is no real incentive to find our way out of this painted corner, but plenty of reasons to stay!

The real question is whether , or not, we are going to continue to invest in the conceptual falsity of death, which is easy; or invest in the more difficult pursuit of our understanding, which negates greed, lack, the power of fear, and the power of death!

ALL is ONE!

[RSU]

History has proven folks like you futile at every turn.

Case in point: Israel and Palestine

[UncommonSenz]

The last eight years has proven "folks like you futile at every turn".

Talking tough does nothing. The constant attempt to make everything black and white ignores the real world- and has made us weaker and more exposed than thoughtful diplomacy would have.

Keep beating your chest and saying how safe you made the world, the adults will take over now and try and clean up your mess.

[RSU]

You should also read RightWingMarine's post below.

[arvay]

Obama is wasting no time, and this is a long-overdue measure.

Time to ratchet down the new Cold War started by the Bush neocons and establish sensible relations with Russia.

Both we and the Russians should be leading the world, getting rid of nuclear weapons and encouraging others to do so as well.

Great to have a president with brain!

[JulieSA]

Make Pakistan and Iran disarm first.

And this is very stupid of Obama. I thought he was smarter than that.

[UncommonSenz]

Spending $100 billion on bombs we will never use is stupid. Thinking that someone would attack us with nukes when we can still wipe them out with conventional bombs and missiles is stupid.

He is smarter than that.

[Davwbaird]

Julie, Julie you are projecting again. Wisdom with nukes is no nukes anywhere for whatever reason. Along as you and your kind (uncivilized) celebrate nuclear arms you also celebrate and support the death and destruction of this planet.

[arvay]

The US and Russia need to lead here, and how do you suggest we "make" Pakistan -- which already has nukes -- and iran "disarm? Maybe Tinker Bell can wave her magic wand and make the bad mans stop?

[RightWingMarine]

If a country believe it can attack an enemy with a WMD and that that enemy cannot retaliate then why not do it? During the second World War the Axis and the Allies possessed the ability to use chemical weapons but refrained from it. This wasn't for humanities sake but because the other side could react inkind. However Japan used chemical and biological weapons against the Chinese and Italy against Ethopia because those countries could do nothing about it. The same thing occured in Iraq against Iran and the Kurds.

If one country has a perceived weakness their enemies will seek to exploit it, not refrain from using it out of some humanitarian reason.

[UncommonSenz]

So we don't have bombers that can take them out? We don't have non-nuclear missiles that can be launched from destroyers etc?

If you think anyone anywhere could attack the us with a nuclear missile and not face a steady rain of bombs destroying every city they ever had inside their borders, you forget the thing our military specializes in which is blowing stuff up.

Getting wiped off the map by conventional weapons is is much a deterrent as getting wiped out by a nuke. Your argument makes zero sense as you imply that ONLY nuclear deterrence can stop a nuclear attack.

[rainbowblue]

No. you are forgetting the issue of fallout. A city bombed away can recover if there was no fallout.

I'm not an ordience expert by any stretch of the imagaination, but do we have any conventional weapons that can replicate the fire storm--the instant vaporization within ~5 mile radius of the flashpoint?

Not to mention do you really want to create a conventional weapon that can replicate it? Wouldn't that prompt some people to use it since it wouldn't have radiation? Bush would have used it.

[Davwbaird]

Madness! I sense and insanity on your part.

[JinChicago]

the RAPTOR series of fighter jets can disable nuclear warheads IN FLIGHT w/ a small detonation that will not allow the nuke to blow

why bother w/ more nukes when we can shoot them outta the sky? this is like trying to make new knifes when guns are teh weapon of choice

[bluemike]

Obama left the twerp in place. Gates is hardly presidential material, so I guess Obama trumps. Dump him !!!

[FearlessFreep]

Anyone can see keeping Gates was a bad decision.

[mero909]

Disarming out existing nuclear arsenal and replacing it with a newer version isn't a bad idea honestly. This particular program could, potentially, create jobs (though a bit of a long shot).

I doubt Obama and Gates are really "at odds" over this.

[LorettaSingbiel]

"Gates had repeatedly called for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program to be put into operation, because the nation's current nukes -- mostly produced in the 1970s and 1980s -- are growing so old that their destructive power may be in question."

Our government is willing to SPARE NO EXPENSE to care for ALL our WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION... but NOT to care for ALL our PEOPLE!

PRICELESS!!!

[JulieSA]

Heh.

[SEQUOIABISON]

Guess what, cabinet members do not get to veto decisions made by their boss the president, the administration is not run like a democracy the president is the "Decider".

If Gates starts acting like Reagan and wants to start instituting idiotic ideas like the Missile Defense System it might be time to accept his resignation.

[mommadona]

S.D.I. = Stupid Dumb Idea...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative

M.A.D. = Mutually Assured Destruction...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_Assured_Destruction

Time to start eliminating the "BoyToy Budgets" that keep these ideologically rightwing radical programs puffing right along.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWzNJOfLVJ4

[mero909]

And replace them with?

[mommadona]

Diplomacy.

Keeping a bunch of volatile, old bullets in the proverbial drawer is never safe.

Example.

We are the ONLY country, so far, to attack civilians with nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

Time to put away childish things.

It's been a mutual male pissing contest for waaaay too long.

[ssgman]

Don't have to replace SDI with anything since the only thing it has achieved is wasting colossal sums of money.

[UtahLiberal435]

Correction:

Gates says "The Reliable Replacement Warhead is not about new capabilities but about AN ENDLESS TRAIN OF MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR 'DEFENSE' INDUSTRY CONTRACTS."

There, fixed it.

Starve the military-defense industry.
Force high tech companies back into useful markets, rather than war parasitism.