Mini-nukes on US agenda

[Whaleboy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3126141.stm

[mrmitchell]

Nuclear weapons are supposed to be something scary and never to be used.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why is this bad news now?

[Dis]

Bush has gone off his rocker!!

I think 9/11 may have caused him some serious psychological trauma. He doesn't seem to be thinking clearly anymore. Yes you can make the joke he never thunk clearly, but I disagree with that.

[Whaleboy]

Because it means nukes are more likely to be used... which sucks!!! Besides, the potential for devastating error is large, lets also bare in mind that this is still capable of destroying my town and killing thousands!!

It also shows lame understanding of terrorism, the majority of terrorist weapons/gear is stored in dispersed locations, not in bunkers in Iran or something for conveniently dipping into. This is a civilian/social enemy, not a military enemy, so tactically speaking, it is foolish to treat it as such (of course that latter approach won't win votes, but it'll work).

These things are still going to chuck out loads of radiation, which is bad I think you will all agree.

They won't be able to make it work on the other hand. Hiroshima bomb was about 3x critical mass (the mass of nuclear material required for a chain reaction), so reasonably, the smallest explosion (fission) will be in the region of 5 kilotons. Fusion explosions require fission "igniters", plus the fusion reaction itself, so they cannot be less than twice the size of a minimum fission blast. Why are they pursuing an objective that would require precise control over subatomic particles, which we don't have, thus any mediocre gcse or A level physics student will tell you this endeavor is futile, and frankly idiotic.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Because it means nukes are more likely to be used

Bull****! This sort of anti-Bush paranoia is seriously getting annoying.

Making a better nuke doesn't mean its gonna be used. I don't remember using a Fusion Bomb on anyone, do you?

[Whaleboy]

Dissident: It was most interesting watching Bush and Blair try to persuade America about going to war with Iraq (I think this was last year, not too sure). Let me make it clear that I am, was and will be against that war and all wars, and this is clear evidence that they decided they wanted war, and evidence was collected to that end, not the other way round.

However, in this speech, Bush spouted some inconsistent, patriotic crap, while Blair gave a coherent, reasoned, convincing and logical argument. It was Blair that convinced many people, and showed me that there was a strong case for war (still the case against was stronger imo). Bush was incapable of doing so, on the other hand, he is of course merely a puppet, in this case, most likely of hawks who want useable nukes with little or no understanding of how that technology works.

I agree with you, but this shows the extent to which that admin is prepared to go to be popular. Bush can think, but not enough to be president!

[Whaleboy]

Making a better nuke doesn't mean its gonna be used. I don't remember using a Fusion Bomb on anyone, do you?

The fact that the fusion bomb was more powerful meant it was less likely to be used. Large nukes are a bluffers weapon. MAD prevents pre-emptive use.

[Dom Pedro II]

Uh huh...... see? My dream... my VISION. Those of you who survive will be calling me a prophet!

[mrmitchell]

Imran Siddiqui, if you seriously do not fear this, you're probably beyond help. Think about it. Do you want nukes becoming an everyday thing?

[iamlod]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Why is this bad news now?

Because, if they carry out plans to create 'mini nukes', it'll be that much easier for our enemies (or terrosists) to steal them and use them against others.

Can you imagine a nuclear suitcase bomb?

It's also just a waste of money... I can see the use of earth penetrating bombs, but I think mini-nukes are pretty useless. Why not use the money to make modern nuclear weapons produce less fallout? Or maybe cure a few deseases? It's been a while since we cured anything (I think polio was the last one, but I'm not sure).

[mrmitchell]

We've also eliminated smallpox, and several viruses once life-threatening to the whole world are now only in small packets of activity.

[Whaleboy]

My dream... my VISION. Those of you who survive will be calling me a prophet!

Simply because of my name, I beat you!!!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Do you want nukes becoming an everyday thing?

Um... aren't they an everyday thing? Or do you think we deactivate nukes pointing somewhere for a week or two?

Really, I don't see the big deal. It's another deterrance weapon .

[Dom Pedro II]

Hopefully...... because I would think the man who switches policy on THAT can kiss reelection good-bye. So that's comforting...