I. Border Apprehensions By the Numbers
279K - Number of unaccompanied minors apprehended at the US-Mexican border.
2,737 - Minimum estimated number of children separated from their parents at the border since 2017.
4,556 - Number of reports made to the Office of Refugee Resettlement alleging the sexual abuse of immigrant minors while in US custody since November 2014.
105.1 F - Highest temperature recorded in 2018 in Tornillo, Texas, the site of the nation's largest tent city for detained immigrant youth.
O - Number of staffers at the Tornillo detention facility (out of 2,100) who underwent FBI background checks after the Trump administration waived the requirement. [1]
II. Nuclear Weapons Menacing Again
Professor Michael T. Klare says that the Pentagon plan to overhaul the U.S. nuclear arsenal is as costly as it is dangerous. He says that military officials claim the existing nuclear weapons force has become obsolete and inflexible, and thus unable to wreak catastrophic retribution, they argue, we need to replace our current atomic weapons with even more terrifying ones. " 'To remain effective [s a deterrent force], explained then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis in February 2018, 'we must recapitalize our Cold War legacy nuclear forces.' "
These policy-makers believe that vast stores of doomsday bombs and missiles allow the United States to threaten and intimidate countries that either lack such weapons or rely on the U.S. for its "nuclear umbrella."
Not only does the new Nuclear Posture Review envision the replacement of all existing weapons with more capable systems; it also authorizes the acquisition of several new types of "low-yield" munitions, supposedly intended for use against conventional forces.
"More to the point, the Pentagon has steadily improved the accuracy, durability, and destructive capacity of its own arsenal during this period, at a cost of many billions of dollars -- spending some $7 billion, for example, on upgrades to the Minuteman III ICBM , and another $15 billion on improved variants of the Trident D5 SLBM."
Professor Klare cites the 400 silo-based Minuteman III ICBMs, the up to 280 multiple-warhead Trident II D5 SLBMs, and the 20 B-2 stealth bombers, and states that: "Under the Pentagon's current plans, every one of these systems will be replaced over the next few decades, at massive taxpayer expense."
"Aside from its lack of strategic relevance, the administration's plans to acquire new low-yield weapons is troubling because it suggests an intent to make nuclear weapons more 'usable' -- if not in practice then as a coercive tool."
Klare then asks where is the money going? "If Congress approves the Pentagon's full request for strategic nuclear-weapons replacement, this will involve:
#A new ICBM to replace all Minuteman IIIs, currently identified as the 'ground-based strategic deterrent.' The Air Force expects to purchase more than 600 of these new missiles (400 for active deployment, the rest for tests and spares). Total cost: More than $140 billion.
#A new fleet of missile-carrying submarines, the 'Columbia' class, to replace the existing 'Ohio' class. At present, the Navy plans to procure 12 of the new vessels, each of which will carry 16 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Total cost: $128 billion.
#A new long-range bomber with enhanced stealth capabilities, the B-21 Raider to replace both the B-2 and the B-52. The Air Force plans to procure at least 100 B-21s, at an average cost of from $546 million to $606 million apiece (in 2016 dollars). Total cost: $97 billion.
#A new air-launched cruise missile, termed a 'long-range stand-off weapon' (LRSO), to be carried by the B-21. The Air Force plans to procure some 1,000 LRSOs, which will have greater range, accuracy, and stealth capabilities than the current aid-launched cruise missiles. Total cost: $11 billion." [2]
Footnotes:
[1] Isabel Cristo, "By the Numbers," The Nation, March 25, 2019.
[2] Michael T. Klare, "Making Nuclear Weapons Menacing Again," The Nation," April 8, 2019.
No comments:
Post a Comment