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May. 20th, 2003 08:46 pmJust read that apparently Rumsfeld defense of ending the ban on researching low-yield nuclear weapons. ``It is a study. It is nothing more and nothing less. And it is not pursuing. And it is not developing. It is not building. It is not manufacturing. And it's not deploying. And it is not using.''
I normally hope for better from Rumsfeld, as that statement's just dumb. If you are opposed to the present or future development of more nuclear weapons, even low yield ones, you should oppose the researching of such weapons. That the research will not automatically lead to the development of the weapons is irrelevant, because the only direct benefit of such research is potentially allowing these weapons.
Now admittedly, this research may prove to have some interesting spin offs, but these side benefits could be achieved in greater magnitude if we focused our research money on the side benefits in the first place, so spin offs don't really matter.
I normally hope for better from Rumsfeld, as that statement's just dumb. If you are opposed to the present or future development of more nuclear weapons, even low yield ones, you should oppose the researching of such weapons. That the research will not automatically lead to the development of the weapons is irrelevant, because the only direct benefit of such research is potentially allowing these weapons.
Now admittedly, this research may prove to have some interesting spin offs, but these side benefits could be achieved in greater magnitude if we focused our research money on the side benefits in the first place, so spin offs don't really matter.
