] The Senate agreed Tuesday to lift a 10-year-old ban on
] the research and development of low-yield nuclear
] weapons. The vote was a boost to the Bush
] administration's goal of expanding the U.S. nuclear
] arsenal.
]
] The Senate voted 51-43 to table and thus kill
] an amendment to keep the ban in place.
]
] The ban prohibits the research and development of nuclear
] weapons with an explosive force of 5 kilotons of less.
] That is one-third the power of the nuclear bomb used at
] Hiroshima in August 1945.
]
] "Don't think low-yield, think small apocalypse," said
] Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. "There is no military need today.
] What we do here will be emulated by other countries. That
] is the nature of world leadership."
]
] But Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said the ban means
] scientists cannot even start developing new weapons.
]
] "With many of the new and emerging threats in the world,
] we cannot afford to be ill-prepared," he said.

Why? Why why WHY?? Why are we trying to develop more nuclear weapons? "low yield" weapons are not needed - the recently developed MOAB is as powerful as a low yield nuke, and doesn't have the fallout associated with it - either nuclear OR political fallout. If we use a tactical nuke in battle, thats a "green light" for every rogue nation to use them, and then all hell breaks loose. We need to keep the nuclear genie in the bottle where it belongs.

Laughing Boy