US Scientists Urge Bush to Reduce Nuclear ArsenalSixteen American scientists and security experts called on US President George W. Bush Tuesday to sharply reduce the US nuclear arsenal to a total of 1,000 warheads.The scientists made the call as Bush prepares for summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The proposal, in a report released Tuesday, would amount to a cut of more than 90 percent of the some 10,500 nuclear warheads in the American arsenal for potential use against Russia and other countries. The cutback, urged by the Federation of American Scientists, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists, would include the elimination of 1,670 tactical nuclear warheads that remained after former President George H.W. Bush deactivated almost all the weapons in the category in 1991. The tactical nuclear warheads that remain are kept at Air Force bases in New Mexico and Nevada, on cruise missiles at Navy bases in Washington and Georgia, and in a few NATO countries. Bush, who will meet Putin in Slovenia on June 16, has said that he is prepared to sharply reduce U.S. nuclear weapons while making plans for an anti-missile defense. Meanwhile, the scientists and security experts are skeptical of Bush's plan for an anti-missile shield. Deployment of a national missile defense would undermine Russia 's confidence that it could retaliate quickly if the United States attacked, the report said. |
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