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U.S. Testing I: Investigate Benefit of Nuclear Testing, Aldridge Says An Oct. 21 memorandum from U.S. Defense Undersecretary Pete Aldridge recommends that the United States look into resuming nuclear tests and “assess potential benefits that could be obtained from a return to nuclear testing with regard to weapon safety, security and reliability” (see GSN, Nov. 15). The United States will face “major challenges” maintaining its nuclear stockpile and must also look “to respond to new nuclear weapons requirements in the future,” according to the memo, which was sent to members of the Nuclear Weapons Council. “We will need to refurbish several aging weapon systems, but the limitations of the nuclear weapons complex will not permit us to perfectly replicate the original designs,” Aldridge said in the memo. Aldridge recommended that the Pentagon investigate the benefits of a “low-yield testing program.” The memo is a sign of movement toward resuming nuclear testing, one expert said. “I think this is yet another sign that some in the Pentagon are trying to move the White House toward a resumption of testing,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association (Jonathan Wright, Reuters, Nov. 18).
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