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| Biden wants US warheads with worldwide reach |
| 2010-02-20 |
| US Vice President Joe Biden says Washington should seek an "adaptive missile defense shield" and conventional warheads with global range. Biden, who spoke at the National Defense University on Thursday, added that development of programs such as the planned anti-missile in Europe would allow the United States to decrease its nuclear weaponry. "Capabilities like an adaptive missile defensive shield, conventional warheads with world-wide reach and others that are developing and being developed will enable us to reduce the role of nuclear weapons as other nuclear powers begin to draw down even further," the vice president said. Biden was also making the case for the big jump in spending so that scientists can make certain the aging US nuclear stockpile remains ready for use, if needed, without test explosions. The new administration budget allocates USD 7 billion for scientists and laboratories that maintain warhead readiness -- an increase of about 13.5 percent and one of the largest in the next spending plan. The 2011 budget also calls for spending an additional USD 5 billion on those projects over the next five years. Biden's comments come while US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev agreed in July to cut their respective number of nuclear warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 under a new treaty. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 It is not much different to a bomber, how do you know what the bomber got? Anyway if they hit a target in the Sudan, it is not a problem anyway. |
| Posted by: BernardZ 2010-02-20 22:19 |
| #3 they usually are told where they are going before launched anyway i would guess |
| Posted by: chris 2010-02-20 11:40 |
| #2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_on_warning |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-02-20 00:38 |
| #1 Problem is, if you launch 10 intercontinental conventional missiles, how does Russia or China distinguish them from nukes? They might launch as soon as they see us launch before they have had a chance to see where the missiles were going. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-02-20 00:33 |