Congressman suggests use of "Limited" nuclear weapons.

[pagemap]

U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer says that the United States should use tactical nuclear weapons against Osama bin Laden's terrorist network in Afghanistan if it is linked to recent anthrax incidents in the United States.

The Indiana Republican said that small, specialized nuclear weapons -- not as powerful as the atom bombs that were used in World War II -- could be used on the caves where members of bin Laden's network have taken shelter.

Buyer, a Gulf War veteran, said that the use of the weapons would be a proper response if bin Laden's people are linked to the anthrax cases in Florida, Washington, New York and elsewhere in the United States.

"Don't send special forces in there to sweep," Buyer said. "We'd be very naïve to believe that biotoxins and chemical agents were not in these caves. Put a tactical nuclear device in, and close these caves for a thousand years."

Buyer said that he hadn't talked with other lawmakers or the Bush administration about the idea, and didn't know how many in the government would support it.

Buyer stresses that he doesn't advocate the use of full-power nuclear bombs, but he acknowledged that much of the world wouldn't see the difference.

"I just want the (Bush) administration to know that I think the United States needs to send a message to the world that we are prepared to do that," Buyer said.

[attgig]

wow...
didn't expect talk of nuclear weapons until at least a year or so from now...

but hey, if UN says ok, well, then, that's somethin we gotta think about...

my problem with what he's talkin about...

what's the difference between 'tactical' and 'full-powered' nuclear bombs...
is Hiroshima and Nagasaki our benchmarks?
anything less powerful is tactical, and more is full-powered????
eh....too fine a line that we're gonna be treading...

[Thunder]

pretty scary stuff...

the idea that we "need to show the world what we are prepared to do" sounds a lot like terrorist talk...

I really don't appreciate anti-war sentiment from within the US...on the other hand, some of the pro-war stuff sounds a little out there...a lot of people here at work have made the disturbing a comparison of some of our congressmen to WWF wrestlers :(

[pagemap]

The atomic weapons used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 were pee shooters compared the thermonuclear weapons today. Give me a little bit, I will get facts to back this up.

[attgig]

Originally posted by pagemap
The atomic weapons used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 were pee shooters compared the thermonuclear weapons today. Give me a little bit, I will get facts to back this up.


That's definitely true...but...still, you can still make 'em small, no?

[sho.gun]

Remember Starship Troopers? Maybe we do have those tiny nukes.

[pagemap]

Here is some interesting reading regarding Russia's 50 megaton nuclear test back in 1961.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/CWIHP/BULLETINS/b4a13.htm


The flash of light was so bright that it was visible at a
distance of 1,000 kilometers, despite cloudy skies. A gigantic,
swirling mushroom cloud rose as high as 64 kilometers.


one participant in the test saw a bright
flash through dark goggles and felt the effects of a thermal pulse
even at a distance of 270 km.


In fact, its power was 10 times the total power of all
explosives used during World War II, including the atomic bombs
dropped on Japanese cities by the United States.

More info
Approximate blast power of the weapons used in Nagasaki/Hiroshima

20 Kilotonnes (Equal to 20,000 pounds of conventional explosive) + radiation

Nucleur weapons have been tested up to 100 megatonnes (known, but nations tend to be secretive about this stuff)(equal to 100,000,000 pounds of conventional exposive), although most warheads mounted to ICBMs run around 10-40 megatonnes (but each carries 10 or so)

[PuTangClan]

Originally posted by sho.gun
Remember Starship Troopers? Maybe we do have those tiny nukes.

Man, I love that movie

[Jihforce]

I can't imagine people even considering it. I mean, sure, lets screw up our planet a little more so that we all die from radioactive contamination. Damn politicians, I'd like to see him get a shot of radiation and see how he likes it.

[topane]

I don't think that will ever happen. I would hate for us to set that precedent. Especially when someone might decide it's now OK to place one in a briefcase and set it off in a city.

[BrewMaster]

That's all the Afghani people need. They're starving, have no economy and no infrastructure. Let's add radiation. Sheesh. THis congressman is an idiot. I think he took a little "Gulf War" syndrome to the head.

[johnnymk]

If the winds are as high in Afghanistan as people are saying, the fallout will travel to other nations.