Security

Nuke Labs to Move to the Pentagon?

The Albuquerque Journal has a real nuke scoop: The Obama administration is considering a plan to fold the U.S. nuclear weapons complex into the Department of Defense. The story (subscription only) says the Office of Management and Budget has outlined plans to study the costs and benefits of the move, which would place nuclear design […]

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The Albuquerque Journal has a real nuke scoop: The Obama administration is considering a plan to fold the U.S. nuclear weapons complex into the Department of Defense.

The story (subscription only) says the Office of Management and Budget has outlined plans to study the costs and benefits of the move, which would place nuclear design labs (Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia) and production facilities under the military's management. Needless to say, this would be a major shift: the nuclear weapons complex has been in civilian hands since 1947. Which is one of the reasons why some of the labs can feel as much like college campuses as national security installations.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, home to Los Alamos and Sandia, released a statement to DANGER ROOM expressing his worries about such a move. “I think this is a very shortsighted approach and I will fight it tooth and nail if they intended to proceed with it,” he said.

This potential move comes as the Pentagon continues a top-to-bottom review of its nuclear mission. With prodding from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the military is taking a closer look at its management of the nuclear weapons stockpile. But talk of revamping the nuclear mission has largely been limited to weapons handling procedures, not management of the design and production complex. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

[PHOTO: Wikimedia]

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