The Nuclear Arsenal in Europe - Washington Mulls Modernization of Aging Bombs

[FarCenter]

Germany's foreign minister has called for the removal of Cold War legacy nuclear weapons being stored here, but some in Washington may have other plans. The US Department of Energy is requesting a budget of close to $2 billion to modernize the country's oldest models of nuclear weapons, including those being kept in Germany.

In a move that could have an impact on the future of nuclear weapons stored in Germany and other parts of Europe, the United States Department of Energy has included requests in its latest budget proposal for funding to modernize parts of the country's aging nuclear arsenal -- a move that would seem to contradict the vision of a nuclear weapons-free world President Barack Obama announced last year.

From 2011 to 2015, the agency wants to allocate close to $2 billion to push forward plans to modernize its arsenal of B-61 nuclear bombs. Some of these weapons are being kept in Europe, including some at storage facilities at the German air force base in Büchel. In total, the US Air Force still has around 150 strategic B-61 bombs in its active arsenal as well as around 400 non-strategic models and a reserve of around 200 further non-strategic bombs.

The weapons are leftovers of the nuclear arms race during the Cold War in Europe. The German government is currently seeking the removal of the bombs through consultations in NATO. The coalition contract between Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) explicitly states that the government will push for the weapons' removal. Indeed, Westerwelle's public stance for removing the nuclear weapons has led to some alienation in Washington. Germany and four other NATO states are expected to discuss the withdrawal of the approximately 200 nuclear weapons that are still being stored in Europe at a summit of NATO foreign ministers in Tallinn at the end of April. Should the budget request be approved, it could mean further hurdles to getting the weapons removed.


<SNIP>http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,683682,00.html

[Purveyor]

1. Yep. We got money for THAT!

My ass...

:sarcasm:

[FarCenter]

2. The Europeans want them out -- we should save the $2 billion

[PhD]

3. I hate to point out the collective naivete of the group

but I suspect this issue is a negotiating tactic in the ongoing START talks. I seriously doubt Obama has any intention of modernizing these bombs, but he can pretend he does while also offering to cancel the plans and remove the weapons in exchange for Russian concessions.

Kennedy did it by removing nuclear missiles from Turkey in exchange for the Soviets removing missiles from Cuba. Reagan did it by removing short-range missiles from Western Europe in exchange for the Soviets doing likewise in Eastern Europe. It's called diplomacy.

[MadHound]

6. That's a toss up,

Given Obama's commitment to a missile defense shield, it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't want to modernize these bombs and screw the START talks.

[Echo In Light]

5. +1 - Get rid of them all before accident or lunacy prevails

[Mudoria]

4. I'd remove all the nuclear weapons from Europe

They are a needless expense and if for some unknown reason the world suddenly went crazy I'm sure we have enough nukes on our subs and the mainland to do whatever some nut wanted to do. While we're removing the nukes I'd also remove all the troops and bases as well. If the Euro's feel the need for defense they should pay for it themselves.

[ThomWV]

7. Two things you need to understand, atom bombs get rebuilt regularly and they have shelflife

There are no old atom bombs left over from the cold war. Bombs are dismantled and rebuilt from time to time, on a regular maintenance schedule, and because of known and unknown effects of normal deterioration of parts, particularly electronic parts, as well as the unknown hazards of radiation hardening, gives all bombs a shelf life that DOE strictly adheres to. Also, keep this in mind. Stewardship of all nuclear weapons is the responsibility of a civilian Department of Government, not the military. All bombs are on loan to the military is a good way to think about it, and although many of them are kept by the military they are returned to their rightful owner from time to time for maintenance and upgrades. Anyway, its good to keep in mind that they don't just make the things and then there they are forever, unchanged and untouched. They get maintenance and upgrades.

[blogslut]

8. Yep

I live where they do the maintenance.