Lynn C. Woolsey: “in the first Presidential debate of the 2004 Presidential election, moderator Jim Lehrer asked the candidates what they…”

“in the first Presidential debate of the 2004 Presidential election, moderator Jim Lehrer asked the candidates what they believe is the single most serious threat to the national security of the United States. Without delay, Senator Kerry responded ``nuclear proliferation.'' When President Bush had the opportunity to respond, he agreed that nuclear nonproliferation is the biggest threat we face as a Nation. If the President agrees that nuclear nonproliferation is such a grave and immediate threat, why does he and why does his administration continue to seek the creation of new nuclear weapons? Why does the President continue to seek funds to study the creation of the robust nuclear Earth penetrator, otherwise known as the ``bunker buster'' bomb? Why does this year's defense authorization bill continue this ridiculous trend by recommending a Department of Defense study about the possibility of creating the bunker buster? Mr. Speaker, the stated purpose of the bunker buster is to destroy caves and difficult-to-reach terrorist hideouts, but the bunker buster is completely unnecessary. The United States military already is capable of bombing these remote locations, and they do not need to use nuclear weapons. The bunker buster is also extremely dangerous.…”