«[US] Administration officials say they have not yet decided whether to produce the first new nuclear weapons in more than decade. But they say that the United States must consider retrofitting its Cold War-era atomic arsenal for the 21st century, and that existing restrictions on research have been “chilling” potential progress in the field of nuclear weaponry.

Scientists, officials say, need freedom to explore new concepts in an era when threats come from terrorists and smaller states rather than a rival superpower fortified with its own intercontinental missiles. »

Remember: these baby-nukes (“nukettes” really) aren’t weapons of mass destruction — unless used in quantity. I’m certain other nations, like Iran and North Korea, can easily understand how the US can, at the same time, back out of ICBM treaties and actively research new atomic weapons while also punishing other non-English speaking countries for pursuing their own programs. The UK appears to be stepping up their atomic programs too, but that’s OK. To those who call this policy hypocritical, reckless, and ill-advised, I say what do you know?

This story was also discussed on plastic.com. Also, the homeland security level has been reduced to Yellow because I guess The Terrorists don’t work weekends.

[Original use.perl.org post and comments.]