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美 상원 차세대 핵무기 연구계획 지지 확인



연합뉴스 2004/06/17 04:25 송고



(뉴욕=연합뉴스) 추왕훈 특파원 = 벙커 파괴용 핵폭탄 등 차세대 핵무기 연구계획을 폐기하려던 미국 민주당의 시도가 표결 결과 수포로 돌아갔다고 뉴욕 타임스가 16일 보도했다.



타임스는 상원에서 15일 실시된 국방예산안 관련 표결에서 민주당이 낸 2천760만달러의 벙커 파괴용 핵폭탄 연구예산과 900만 달러에 이르는 '미니 핵폭탄' 등 기타 핵무기 연구예산 폐기안이 55 대 42로 부결됐다고 밝혔다.



야당인 민주당은 이와 같은 핵무기 연구는 세계적인 핵무기 연구 경쟁 촉발 가능성과 지하 핵폭발일지라도 발생하는 방사능 낙진의 확산 위험 등을 들어 이와 같은 차세대 핵무기 연구 계획에 반대해왔다.



민주당은 또 국방부가 향후 5년 간 이른바 '벙커 버스터'로 불리는 벙커 파괴용 핵폭탄 개발에 4억8천500만 달러를 책정해 놓은 것은 이와 같은 핵무기에 관해 행정부가 이미 단순한 연구 차원을 넘어서는 계획을 갖고 있다는 증거라고 주장했다.



그러나 공화당은 현재 미국이 처한 위협의 성격을 감안할 때 차세대 핵무기 연구를 진척시키지 않는 것은 무책임한 일이라고 맞서왔다.









[THE NEW YORK TIMES]



Senate Backs New Research on A-Bombs



By THE NEW YORK TIMES



Published: June 16, 2004



WASHINGTON, June 15 - The Senate renewed its support Tuesday

for research into a new generation of nuclear weapons,

overcoming opposition from Democrats who said they feared

that the Bush administration had already decided to develop

such arms.



In its consideration of a $447 billion Pentagon spending

measure, the Senate defeated, 55 to 42, a Democratic

proposal to eliminate $27.6 million for a study of a nuclear

weapon capable of penetrating underground bunkers and $9

million to explore other nuclear concepts, including smaller

bombs known as mini-nukes.



In a vote on another provision of the bill, the Senate

agreed, 65 to 33, to add to the definition of federal hate

crimes those committed because of the victim's "sexual

orientation, gender or disability."



That vote set up a showdown with the House, whose own

version of the bill includes no such change in the

definition, which now applies to race, color, religion and

national origin.



As for the research on new nuclear weapons, Republicans said

that not to proceed with it would be irresponsible, given a

changing nature of threats to the United States.



"Irrational rogue nations and nonstate actors have emerged

as a greater threat to us," said Senator Wayne Allard,

Republican of Colorado.



But Democrats, who lost a similar battle last year, said

that the research would spur other nations to turn to such

weapons and that even bombs exploding underground would pose

risks of fallout far beyond their targets. That the

administration has budgeted $485 million over five years for

the so-called bunker buster is evidence that the Pentagon

already intends to move beyond research, said the opponents,

led by Senators Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and

Dianne Feinstein of California.



Backers of the administration denied that a decision to

produce the weapons had already been made, saying money was

included in projections of future budgets only in case

Congress gave approval.



"This is a feasibility study; it is nothing more than that,"

said Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma.



The House version of the legislation also provides for the

research, but a House Appropriations subcommittee on nuclear

issues, considering a related measure, decided last week to

eliminate all money for it. (The same House panel reduced

spending for the program last year, though much of the money

cut was restored in later negotiations.)



Taken together, the votes in the Senate and the House have

made clear that Congress will be battling over this issue

throughout the summer.



The hate crimes proposal was pushed by Mr. Kennedy and

Senator Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon. Mr. Smith

called the change in the definition "long overdue" and said

it was relevant to the Pentagon legislation because of

violent crimes that have been committed against gay members

of the armed forces.



"You cannot fight terror abroad and accept terror at home,"

he said.



Similar measures have been passed by the Senate before but

have been stripped from final bills. This time, Mr. Kennedy

and Mr. Smith said, they believe that the strong show of

support in the vote will give them leverage in talks with

the House. They also have assurances from the chairman of

the Senate Armed Services Committee, John W. Warner,

Republican of Virginia, that he will back the language in

those negotiations on the overall bill.



Some Senate Republicans criticized the proposal, saying that

it would require the authorities to try to ascertain the

psychological motive for a crime and that there was no

evidence that offenses against the specified groups were not

being prosecuted now.



"I think it is a reach both in terms of need and in terms of

the danger of criminalizing thought processes rather than

actions," said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama.



http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/politics/16nukes.html