Ending Nuclear Hypocrisy

This record of anti-proliferation activity - however uneven in its application - certainly gives the impression that stopping the spread of nuclear weapons is a top administration priority. But a closer look at its policy on this issue suggests that nothing could be further from the truth.

Perhaps the clearest example of President Bush’s “do as I say, not as I do” policy is the Department of Energy’s “Complex 2030″ plan to build a new generation of nuclear weapons. With a potential price tag of $175 billion or more over the next two decades, the initiative calls for the replacement of every deployed warhead in the U.S. arsenal and the construction of a series of new facilities, including a multi-billion dollar plutonium production plant. It’s hard to tell other countries that building nuclear weapons is dangerous and unnecessary while the United States proceeds with a plan that will have us in the nuclear weapons business well into the middle of this century.

Any country that does not have nuclear weapons is in potential danger from those countries that do. Thus, in the current state of world affairs, it is in a country's best interest to develop nuclear weapons. Otherwise, they will not be taken seriously on the world stage.

Here's the story.