Statement by Dr. Kurt Gottfried,
Chairman, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Emeritus Professor of Physics,
Cornell University
National
Academy of Sciences report (PDF) "Recent reports suggest that the Bush
administration is considering using nuclear weapons against Iran. The very fact
that nuclear weapon use is being discussed as an option—against a state that
does not have nuclear weapons and does not represent a direct or imminent threat
to the United States—illustrates the extent to which the Bush administration has
changed U.S. nuclear weapons policy.
"The Bush administration has explicitly rejected the basic precept that the sole
purpose of U.S. nuclear weapons should be to deter the use of nuclear weapons.
It has assigned a new, and provocative, mission to U.S. nuclear weapons: to
dissuade or prevent other countries from undertaking military programs that
could threaten U.S. interests in the future. A 'preventive' nuclear attack on
Iran would fall into this category. It has also blurred the line between nuclear
and conventional weapons by declaring that nuclear weapons can be used as part
of military operations.
"This nuclear policy increases the likelihood that nuclear weapons will be used,
and ultimately decreases U.S. as well as international security. Instead, the
United States should commit itself to strengthen the taboo against the use of
nuclear weapons that has developed over the past 60 years.
"Plans to use nuclear weapons against Iran also fail to recognize the immediate
dangers inherent in the use of nuclear weapons. The administration is reportedly
considering using the B61-11 nuclear 'bunker buster' against an underground
facility near Natanz, Iran. The use of such a weapon would create massive clouds
of radioactive fallout that could spread far from the site of the attack,
including to other nations. Even if used in remote, lightly populated areas, the
number of casualties could range up to more than a hundred thousand, depending
on the weapon yield and weather conditions.
"Threatening to use nuclear weapons against Iran provides the strongest of
incentives for nuclear proliferation, since it would send the message that the
only way for a country to deter nuclear attack is to acquire its own nuclear
arsenal. The administration cannot have its cake and eat it, too—it cannot have
a viable nuclear non-proliferation policy while continually expanding the roles
for its own nuclear weapons."
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Related link: Nuclear Bunker Buster (RNEP)
Animation
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Original website:
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/commentary/administrations-nuclear.html
