Political Quotes

“I say to Senator Thune, I was not aware it would be cut in half. I was aware it would be drastically reduced. That is a huge reduction, especially if the administration is unwilling to commit that we are even going to have a nuclear-capable bomber force in the next generation of our triad. They have been willing to say we have a great triad today. That is true as far as it goes. But part of that triad on the bomber force, for example, are B-52s that were designed-- when--back in the 1950s and built in the 1960s and 1970s. We have to replace all three legs of our triad. The decision has been made on the submarine. That is a good thing. But the decisions have not yet been made on the ICBM or on the bomber force. One of our concerns about modernization is that modernization of the nuclear warheads is fine--I mean, it is necessary. But if we do not also modernize the method by which we deliver those warheads, then modernizing our warheads is of little significance. The final point to Senator Thune's question, of course, is that other countries, including Russia and China, are all modernizing both their warheads and their delivery vehicles. So the United States does not want to get caught in the position where we are down to very few workable weapons, especially the bomber force, which, as the Senator noted, can also be called back, unlike the missiles that are launched either from ground or from submarine. Once they are launched, they are launched.”