Nuclear problems apparent at home, hidden abroad [View all]

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http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/02/12/nuclear-problems-apparent-at-home-hidden-abroad/5423811/

Nuclear problems apparent at home, hidden abroad
Samuel B. Hoff, February 12, 2014

The new year has brought serious worries for America's nuclear force and concomitantly this nation's ability to detect nuclear weapons production abroad. Though seemingly separate, the reports revealing these deficiencies have rattled the U.S. defense network.

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Not surprisingly, a recent RAND Corp. study found a high degree of burnout among members of the U.S. nuclear missile force, prompting Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to call some of the personnel in underground bunkers for an on-the-job pep talk. Realistically, however, Hagel knows it will take more than that to turn things around, from better hiring, to more dry runs, to increased recognition for the men and women who work in this area of our military. Or, for a more radical change, the military could scrap human monitors in hardened silos for a mostly automated rotating missile setup.

Last month, a three-year study by the Pentagon's Defense Science Board concluded America's ability to detect nuclear weapons in countries like Iran are "either inadequate, or more often, do not exist." After the preemption doctrine and the Axis of Evil tag failed miserably as nuclear weapons policy during the George W. Bush administration, the Barack Obama White House is now on the hook for this scary scenario. Given the extensive use of drones to take out terrorists, the Obama team at CIA and Defense should not have a problem employing them to take in information via video. Beyond that, more human intelligence is obviously needed to compliment technology. Ultimately, better enforcement by groups such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and strengthening of existing nuclear weapons agreements are necessary to prevent proliferation of the most powerful of WMDs.

By some estimates, the United States spent more than $4 trillion in nuclear weapons development during the Cold War period of 1945-1988. With a national debt now four times that amount and downsizing from two wars underway, there seems to be momentum running against a monetary solution to either dilemma above.

Whatever the approach, failing to fix the twin problems is not an option in a world in which suspect nations possess nuclear weapons and terrorists want to.