Retired Navy Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll voices his alarm, in an LA Times opinion piece, that We Are Taking a Detour From Deterrence.

The U.S. Senate is preparing to take a major step to abandon all pretense that U.S. nuclear

forces exist only to deter war. An amendment to the pending Defense Authorization Act for

2001 would lead to the development of a new nuclear weapon designed expressly for

fighting.

The new weapon is to be a low-yield device with earth penetration capability, intended to

destroy deeply buried bunkers.

“…Not only is the Senate’s action a throwback to those unlamented days of preparing to

prevail in nuclear war, but it also is a flagrant repudiation of a solemn pledge the United

States made in May at the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York. We

joined with Britain, France, China and Russia in a commitment to accomplish the total

elimination of nuclear arsenals, leading to nuclear disarmament.