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Our Endangered Nuclear Weaponeers
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324412604578514991636761274.html
Our Endangered Nuclear Weaponeers
No more nukes means no more experts, and their talents have kept us safe.
By J. DOUGLAS BEASON
May 30, 2013
It takes a nuclear weaponeer to stop a nuclear weaponeer. And I should know.
In the 1990s, I designed nuclear bombs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In the 2000s at Los Alamos, I ran one of the largest programs to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction, directing hundreds of professionals who had worked for decades on all aspects of nuclear weapons. The background, experience and judgment of these weaponeers were responsible for successfully mitigating and preventing various nuclear threats, details of which are still classified.
The U.S. is now in danger of forever losing this talent that keeps the nation safe. That is a disturbing development, because the threat isn't going away. Iran is producing enriched uranium, North Korea in February detonated its third nuclear weapon since 2006, and terrorists continually seek this ultimate capability. The risk endures and is growing.
Policy luminaries such as former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State George Shultz have called for the elimination of nuclear weapons, and the Obama administration embraces this goal. In a perfect world with complete transparency, a nuclear-free planet would be the ideal for ensuring peace.
<snip>
To eradicate the nuclear threat, America needs to employ the world's best nuclear weaponeers. And although it seems paradoxical, the only way to do that is to maintain a nuclear stockpile—perhaps a small one, but a real one. We can't rely on models, simulations or non-nuclear substitutes to give first-stringers experience. There are too many subtleties involved with nuclear weapons to take a chance.
<snip>
Our Endangered Nuclear Weaponeers
No more nukes means no more experts, and their talents have kept us safe.
By J. DOUGLAS BEASON
May 30, 2013
It takes a nuclear weaponeer to stop a nuclear weaponeer. And I should know.
In the 1990s, I designed nuclear bombs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In the 2000s at Los Alamos, I ran one of the largest programs to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction, directing hundreds of professionals who had worked for decades on all aspects of nuclear weapons. The background, experience and judgment of these weaponeers were responsible for successfully mitigating and preventing various nuclear threats, details of which are still classified.
The U.S. is now in danger of forever losing this talent that keeps the nation safe. That is a disturbing development, because the threat isn't going away. Iran is producing enriched uranium, North Korea in February detonated its third nuclear weapon since 2006, and terrorists continually seek this ultimate capability. The risk endures and is growing.
Policy luminaries such as former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State George Shultz have called for the elimination of nuclear weapons, and the Obama administration embraces this goal. In a perfect world with complete transparency, a nuclear-free planet would be the ideal for ensuring peace.
<snip>
To eradicate the nuclear threat, America needs to employ the world's best nuclear weaponeers. And although it seems paradoxical, the only way to do that is to maintain a nuclear stockpile—perhaps a small one, but a real one. We can't rely on models, simulations or non-nuclear substitutes to give first-stringers experience. There are too many subtleties involved with nuclear weapons to take a chance.
<snip>