Strat Comm commander: New nukes needed

[unhappycamper]

Gen. Kevin Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said Nov. 19 that the military must focus more toward nuclear enterprise.


Strat Comm commander: New nukes needed
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 19, 2009 22:03:53 EST

LOS ANGELES — The military’s top officer in charge of nuclear weapons issued a warning Thursday about the state of the nation’s nuclear programs, saying that new nuclear weapons need to be developed and lamenting the declining numbers of nuclear experts and scientists.

Calling the nuclear arsenal the foundation of the nation’s strategic deterrence capability, Gen. Kevin Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said the military must invest more in the nuclear enterprise.

“First we need to fix the infrastructure that supports our nuclear stockpile,” said Chilton, speaking at an Air Force Association conference in Los Angeles. But “we can’t just continue to sustain (Cold War weapons) in our inventory. … It’s a new world in the 21st century, and we need weapons that were designed for and support the needs of the 21st century.”

Of particular concern, Chilton said, is the deterioration of the nation’s nuclear laboratories, which he called “decrepit.” These laboratories must be modernized in order to attract and retain the scientists needed to sustain a weapons program, he said.

He also said that since the U.S. no longer tests nuclear weapons, the nation must continue to invest in an aggressive stockpile management program to ensure that existing weapons remain reliable and safe.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/11/airforce_chilton_111909w/

[Crowman1979]

1. Wrong! No Nukes needed!

There is no reason to sustain one of the most destructive creations of mankind ever created. What we really need is new nuclear reduction treaties.