Nuclear Weapons and Congress

When Congress has one of those all-too-frequent moments when it goes along with some foolish proposal or other from the Bush Administration, sometimes crassly disregarding its own institutional responsibilities, the blogger Billmon will refer to them sarcastically as our Chamber of People's Deputies. The reference being to the toothless Parliaments of the old Soviet bloc countries who were there to provide window-dressing for the decisions of the Party and the government.

I thought of that phrase today when I saw this article (my emphasis):

A new era of nuclear weapons: Bush's buildup begins with little debate in Congress San Francisco Chronicle 12/07/03

<< Reversing a decade of restraint in nuclear weapons policy, Congress agreed to provide more than $6 billion for research, expansion and upgrades in the country's nuclear capabilities. While Congress approved large sums to maintain the existing nuclear arsenal even during the Clinton years, this year's increases will finance multiyear programs to design a new generation of warheads as well as more sophisticated missiles, bombers and re-entry vehicles to deliver them.

<< "This is a fairly radical new way of thinking about things," Brooks said, adding that it amounted to "a more fundamental shift in the way we look at this than many people realize."

<< That the change is indeed both "radical" and "fundamental" is about the only thing critics of the administration agree with.

<< "It hasn't been perceived as such, but this is a nuclear revival," said Stephen Schwartz, publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

<< Deeply disturbing to critics on both sides of the political spectrum is how little public or congressional discussion has taken place, and how little detailed information the Bush administration has provided on its strategies and plans. >>

The programs in question include smaller weapons that Administration hawks will be more likely to be used in wars. It's just the next step in the seemingly never-ending quest by lovers of the Bomb to find a way to use nuclear weapons rather than prevent their usage.