The nuclear weapons lobby is making maneuvers in the halls of Congress, again.
By Hekmat Aboukhater and William D. Hartung, Tom Dispatch
The Pentagon is in the midst of a massive $2 trillion multiyear plan to build a new generation of nuclear-armed missiles, bombers, and submarines. A large chunk of that funding will go to major nuclear weapons contractors like Bechtel, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. And they will do everything in their power to keep that money flowing.
This January, a review of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program under the Nunn-McCurdy Act — a congressional provision designed to rein in cost overruns of Pentagon weapons programs — found that the missile, the crown jewel of the nuclear overhaul plan involving 450 missile-holding silos spread across five states, is already 81% over its original budget. It is now estimated that it will cost a total of nearly $141 billion to develop and purchase, a figure only likely to rise in the future.
That Pentagon review had the option of canceling the Sentinel program because of such a staggering cost increase. Instead, it doubled down on the program, asserting that it would be an essential element of any future nuclear deterrent and must continue, even if the funding for other defense programs has to be cut to make way for it. In justifying the decision, Deputy Defense Secretary William LaPlante stated: “We are fully aware of the costs, but we are also aware of the risks of not modernizing our nuclear forces and not addressing the very real threats we confront.”
Recent Posts
450 Wounded, 14 Dead After Lebanon Hit With Second Wave Of Device Explosions
Take Action Now The attacks, which humanitarian groups noted are likely war crimes, are an escalation by Israel. By Sharon Zhang, TruthOut People…
Harris’ Turn To The Dark (Money) Side
Take Action Now Despite a history of decrying dark money, Harris is now reaping the rewards of big, secret political donations. By Helen Santoro,…
Presidential Debates And Taxing The Rich, Then And Now
Take Action Now Some unasked questions might have helped prevent the last half-century’s massive concentration of income and wealth By Sam…
‘An Act Of Terror’: Israel Behind Pager Explosions That Killed 11, Wounded Thousands
Take Action Now “Israeli intelligence services planned to use the booby-trapped pagers it managed to ‘plant’ in Hezbollah’s…