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- Xref: sparky misc.activism.progressive:6204 alt.activism:15799 talk.environment:3465
- Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!ames!agate!remarque.berkeley.edu!jym
- From: Greenpeace via Jym Dyer <jym@mica.berkeley.edu>
- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism,talk.environment
- Subject: NEWS: U.S. Leads in Foreign Nuclear Deployments After the Cold War
- Followup-To: talk.environment
- Date: 1 Sep 1992 22:11:42 GMT
- Organization: The Naughty Peahen Party Line
- Lines: 95
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Message-ID: <Greenpeace.1Sep1992.8am2@naughty-peahen.org>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu
- Originator: jym@remarque.berkeley.edu
-
- [Greenpeace Press Release from Greenbase -- Redistribute Freely]
-
- UNITED STATES LEADS IN FOREIGN NUCLEAR DEPLOYMENTS
- AFTER THE COLD WAR
-
- WASHINGTON, August 19, 1992 (GP) The largest shift in the
- deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons since the 1950s has occurred
- in the past two years, as thousands of warheads are returned to
- U.S. shores to be stored and, eventually, dismantled, according
- to a new study. This information was revealed today in the
- September 1992 issue of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,
- and in a joint Greenpeace/Natural Resources Defense Council
- study, "Taking Stock: U.S. Nuclear Deployments at the End of the
- Cold War," by William M. Arkin and Robert S. Norris.
-
- Currently about five percent of the US nuclear stockpile is
- deployed in Europe (970 bombs), a marked contrast with the 30
- percent deployed in foreign countries a decade ago. Weapons are
- deployed in seven countries: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Greece,
- Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom. The Arkin/ Norris study
- reveals that the U.S. nuclear stockpile has declined from a
- modern day peak of some 24,000 warheads in the mid 1980s to
- nearly 19,000 today, and project that by the end of the century,
- the number will further decline to a maximum of 5,400.
-
- According to "Taking Stock," there are currently 50 U.S. nuclear
- storage sites around the globe, down from 164 sites in 1985. Of
- 125 sites outside the United States in the mid 1980s, only 16
- remain, and every U.S. nuclear weapon now stored overseas
- belongs to the U.S. Air Force. West Germany has seen the most
- significant change in weapons deployment patterns from 5,116
- warheads on its soil in 1975, 3,396 in 1985, to 325 today. Over
- 100 separate nuclear storage sites in West Germany have been
- closed in the past few years, leaving just five today. The
- United Kingdom may still store nuclear bombs in Germany at two
- RAF bases, the only other country to deploy any nuclear weapons
- outside of their national territory. With the removal of the
- remaining warheads from Guam and South Korea in 1991, the U.S.
- only deploys nuclear weapons in NATO countries.
-
- Six of the seven nations that host nuclear weapons are
- participants in secret programs (called "Programs of
- Cooperation") where the host nations' equipment is certified to
- deliver nuclear bombs. The exception is United Kingdom, which
- has its own nuclear bombs. Ten of the 16 nuclear storage sites
- are located on host nation bases where nuclear certified F4,
- F16, F104 and Tornado aircraft are based.
-
- "It seems that NATO can't get out of the Cold War. The only
- possible reason for a nuclear conflict in Europe are nuclear
- weapons themselves. And that is good reason to get rid of them,"
- said Arkin.
-
- One factor in the decline of the number of nuclear weapons is
- the retirement of vintage 1950s and 60s warheads, which will not
- be replaced as a result of decisions in the 1980s. Arms control
- treaties also account for much of the dismantlement, and
- agreements will be particularly influential in the coming years.
- "The most interesting reason for the decline," said Arkin, "is
- that the uniformed military's infatuation with nuclear weapons
- is over. The Army is completely out of the nuclear business and
- the tactical nuclear arsenal is one tenth of its former size.
- Only an outmoded strategy and the existence of the huge nuclear
- infrastructure continues to drive retention and development of
- new weapons."
-
- Of the nearly 19,000 warheads currently in the stockpile, 11,500
- are in active service, and 7,500 await dismantlement. Starting
- in October 1992, the US Energy Department's PANTEX plant near
- Amarillo, TX, will disassemble 2,000 warheads per year, about
- seven a day, for the foreseeable future.
-
- Arkin and Norris predict that by the year 2000, only 17 U.S.
- states will house nuclear weapons. "Texas stands to be the big
- loser in the nuclear lottery," said Arkin. "With PANTEX as the
- only retirement site, Texas will become a dumping ground for
- tens of tons of plutonium from dismantled warheads."
-
- Nuclear disarmament, while currently aggressive, may slow in the
- future. There are no plans to eliminate over 1,000 nuclear
- weapons earmarked for fighting small wars around the globe.
- Nuclear weapons will remain deployed overseas. The number of
- tactical nuclear bombs in Europe will probably decline to around
- 500. Many nuclear policymakers are urging that the number of
- strategic nuclear weapons not go below the 3,500 level.
- ###
-
- William M. Arkin and Robert S. Norris have written "Nuclear
- Notebook," a monthly feature in The Bulletin of the Atomic
- Scientists, since 1987 and have collaborated on three books
- on nuclear weapons. Their estimates of nuclear stockpiles
- worldwide are considered authoritative, and are included in
- many standard reference works, including the International
- Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance, the World
- Almanac and the Encyclopedia Britannica.
-