"Buster the Friendly Nuke" launched in fight against new nuclear weapons

In session
July 2005

"Buster the Friendly Nuke" launched in fight against new nuclear weapons
The Friends Committe on National Legislation has launched a new animated cartoon to poke fun at the idea of a "usable" nuclear weapon at http://www.fcnl.org/issues/arm/busterflash.htm. The Pentagon has been seeking funding to begin development of so-called "bunker buster," low-yield nuclear warheards that critics charge would help make more likely what previously was considered unthinkable, the tactical use of nuclear warheads.

Even a "small" 1.2 megaton "bunker buster" nuclear bomb could kill over a million people, according to a government-sponsored report by the National Academy of Sciences, charges FCNL. The group argues that such a new nuclear weapons development program will critically injure efforts to contain global proliferation of nuclear weapons.

According to FCNL: "The cartoon illustrates through irony the foolishness of trying to develop a more 'usable' nuclear weapon. In fact the nuclear 'bunker buster' would be 70 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and would burrow only a few yards underground. It would spew a large cloud of radioactive fallout into the air which could kill millions of people.

"Your senators will probably be back in your state for the Independence Day recess. This is a good time to request a meeting with your senator to discuss your opposition to the nuclear bunker buster bomb."

For more information
The Friends Committee on National Legislation and our nuclear disarmament program

FCNL's fact sheet on the bunker buster

The Union of Concerned Scientists on why the nuclear "bunker buster" is an impractical weapon

Join FCNL's Iraq Campaign

Contact Congress and the Administration

Back to page top