US scraps nuclear weapons watchdog

A US department of energy panel of experts which provided independent
oversight of the development of the US nuclear arsenal has been quietly
disbanded by the Bush administration.
*US scraps nuclear weapons watchdog*

*Julian Borger in Washington*
*Thursday July 31, 2003*
*The Guardian*

A US department of energy panel of experts which provided independent
oversight of the development of the US nuclear arsenal has been quietly
disbanded by the Bush administration, it emerged yesterday.

The decision to close down the national nuclear security administration
advisory committee - required by law to hold public hearings and issue
public reports on nuclear weapons issues - has come just days before a
closed-door meeting at a US air force base in Nebraska to discuss the
development of a new generation of tactical "mini nukes" and "bunker
buster" bombs, as well as an eventual resumption of nuclear testing.

Ed Markey, a Democratic congressman and co-chairman of a congressional
taskforce on non-proliferation, said: "Instead of seeking balanced
expert advice and analysis about this important topic, the department of
energy has disbanded the one forum for honest, unbiased external review
of its nuclear weapons policies."

Neither the NNSA - part of the department of energy - nor the 15 panel
members returned calls seeking comment yesterday.

The NNSA advisory panel is made up of academics, retired officials and
business leaders.

Although federal law requires regular open meetings and publication of
its reports, the energy department has not convened the panel since May
2002. Its reports have not been released.

The statute establishing federal advisory committees requires their
dissolution to be officially gazetted in the federal register but,
according to Mr Markey, the NNSA panel was disbanded by a simple email
to its members.

Daryl Kimball, the head of the independent, Washington-based Arms
Control Association, said: "This will make the department of energy and
the NNSA even more opaque. It will be all the more difficult to
understand what they are planning to do."

Hawks in the Pentagon and the energy department are pushing for the
development of tactical nuclear weapons with yields of less than 5
kilotons and hardened "bunker buster" nuclear bombs, designed to
penetrate deeply buried targets, where enemy leaders or weaponsmay be
hidden.

According to the leaked agenda for the Omaha meeting in early August,
Pentagon and energy department officials will discuss how to test small
numbers of these new weapons, and whether this will require a break from
the moratorium on nuclear tests.

Critics argue that the new weapons will blur the distinction between
conventional and nuclear arms, and trigger a new arms race.

"The Bush administration is considering policy changes that will alter
the role of nuclear weapons in national defence," Mr Markey said. "Given
the importance and sheer complexity of the issues raised ... why was the
only independent contemplative body studying nuclear weapons disbanded -
and disbanded in such a surreptitious fashion?"