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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Most Effective Nuclear Defense Program Suffers Cuts Under Bush |
Current rating: 0 |
by Council for a Livable World
(No verified email address)
Phone: Steve LaMontagne 202.543.4100 x1 |
05 Jul 2001
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Nunn-Lugar Suffers Cuts Despite Big Boost to Pentagon Budget
Program Has Dismantled Over 5,000 Nuclear Weapons
Far More Effective Threat Reduction Than "Faith-Based" Missile Defense |
WASHINGTON - July 3 - While the military budget will increase by $33 billion next year, the Bush administration wants to cut Defense Department Cooperative Threat reduction Programs by $40 million— from $443 million to $403 million. Also referred to as the Nunn-Lugar program, these programs assist the countries of the former Soviet Union in dismantling their thousands of nuclear warheads and strategic delivery systems left over from the Cold War.
When added to $100 million of already requested cuts to Department of Energy non-proliferation programs, the administration plans to cut a total of $140 million from this vital effort in fiscal 2002.
The cuts run contrary to the recommendations of a bipartisan task force led by former Senator Howard Baker (R-TN) and former White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler. In January 2001 the task force concluded that Russia's massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons, plutonium and highly enriched uranium pose the "most urgent unmet national security threat to the United States today," and recommended investing $30 billion over eight to ten years to eliminate the threat.
Nunn-Lugar has deactivated over 5,000 nuclear warheads and destroyed hundreds of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), missile silos, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, bombers, and nuclear test tunnels since 1991.
"Nunn-Lugar has been one of the most cost-effective investments in U.S. security since the end of the Cold War," said Steve LaMontagne, an expert on non-proliferation at Council for a Livable World Education Fund.
On the other hand, missile defense programs will receive $8.3 billion in 2002, an increase of $3 billion over the amount that former President Clinton had proposed. The increase comes despite the system's poor test record and potentially destabilizing impact on global security.
"To reward a system that has failed two out of three tests with an extra $3 billion, while at the same time cutting funds for programs with bipartisan support and a proven record of success, is illogical and dangerous," commented LaMontagne.
"It looks like Nunn-Lugar has been sacrificed on the altar of the administration's faith-based missile defense," added John Isaacs, President of Council for a Livable World. |
See also:
http://www.clw.org
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