I participated in a conference call today with the Stop the Divine Strake Coalition today. The Coalition is strategizing a variety of actions to implement.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: CHRIS GALLEGOS
NOVEMBER 15, 2006
(202) 224-7082
DOMENICI: PENTAGON TO FOREGO
³DIVINE STRAKE² TESTS AT WSMR
WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Pete Domenici, a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today reported that the Defense Department has decided that it will not conduct conventional Divine Strake
³bunker busting² tests at White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico.
Domenici was informed of the decision today by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the Pentagon organization that was considering the possibility of moving Divine Strake testing to New Mexico because of opposition to the testing in Nevada. DTRA indicated to Domenici that the testing will remain at the Nevada Test Site and not be moved elsewhere.
³I believe the Pentagon has made a good decision. While I look forward to full utilization of our assets at WSMR, I understand that keeping these tests in Nevada is the best choice from a technical perspective,² Domenici said.
³Moving the test to White Sands would have taken years and delayed development of an ability to predict damage to deeply buried targets like tunnels and bunker busters. Both are increasingly being used by our potential adversaries,² he continued.
DTRA prefers the NTS, a DOE National Nuclear Security Administration facility, for Divine Strake testing. NTS has been used for many low-yield tunnel characterization tests and is already in the process
of updating an environmental assessment related to possible high-yield Divine Strake tests. Divine Strake testing could occur in FY2007.
Choosing WSMR would have required a full environmental impact statement which could have taken several years.
Domenici supported a $1.95 million appropriation in the FY2007 Defense Appropriations Act to develop a non-nuclear, deep-penetrating munition. As chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Domenici elected to allow the Defense Department to focus on conventional bunker busting weapons and discontinue funding for the NNSA-led Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) project.
CANCEL THE DIVINE STRAKE! STOP WEAPONS TESTING ON ANY LAND! END NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION!
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 