Since the article was published, there have been many new developments. The congressionally mandated study on destroying hardened targets, never formally released but obtained by an anti-nuclear organization and posted on the Internet in December 2001, did not explicitly call for new nuclear weapons, but noted that such weapons were the only way to defeat certain types of targets. The Bush administration's Nuclear Posture Review, the details of which were leaked to the Los Angeles Times and New York Times in early March 2002, alarmed many observers by broadening the circumstances under which U.S. nuclear weapons might be used. It also called for modifying nuclear weapons to destroy underground targets, for developing "nuclear weapons better suited to the nation's needs," and for reducing the amount of time required to resume nuclear testing. The Washington Post subsequently reported that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wanted to explore the use of nuclear weapons in a missile defense system, a move hearkening back to the Safeguard system of the late 1960s and early 1970s when, coincidentally or not, Rumsfeld served as defense secretary under president Gerald Ford. In addition, the Foster Panel issued its third report in mid-March, once again raising questions about the long-term viability of the stockpile stewardship program and supporting a reduction in the amount of time necessary to resume nuclear testing.

On May 9, the House of Representatives refused, by a 243 to 171 vote, to eliminate all funding for earth penetrating nuclear weapons from the fiscal 2003 defense authorization bill. That same day, however, the Senate Armed Services Committee eliminated funding for such weapons and further required the Department of Energy to "clearly and specifically identify any funds requested in the future for new or modified nuclear weapons" and report on the requirements for any such weapons. The different versions of the defense bill will have to be reconciled by a conference committee later this summer.

There was no response to this story in the mainstream press during 2001. But since the disclosure of the Nuclear Posture Review in March 2002, I have spoken with numerous print and broadcast journalists and elements of the story have appeared in, among others, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Kansas City Star, the Christian Science Monitor, the Guardian (London), as well as a report on NPR's All Things Considered. In addition, Popular Mechanics is preparing an article on bunker-busting nuclear weapons and 60 Minutes is exploring a possible segment on the nuclear revival.

Readers interested in further information are advised to read the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which will be publishing periodic updates as warranted (one appeared in the May/June 2002 issue). Visit the Bulletin's web site at www.thebulletin.org.

-- Stephen I. Schwartz

(Additional updates or comments may be available in the yearbook or at the Project Censored website)

RETURN to 2001 Project Censored list

Comments? Send a letter to the editor.

Albion Monitor September 5 2002 (http://albionmonitor.net)

All Rights Reserved.

Contact rights@monitor.net for permission to use in any format.