WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is seeking to speed deployment
of an ultra-large "bunker-buster" bomb on the most advanced U.S. bomber
as soon as July 2010, the Air Force said on Sunday, amid concerns over
perceived nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran.
The non-nuclear, 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP,
which is still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried
bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs.
This is a speech that President Obama might give to educate and
encourage American citizens to support him in seeking a world free of
nuclear weapons and to alert the world to America's new proactive
stance on nuclear disarmament.
My Fellow Citizens,
I want to talk with you about an issue of the utmost importance for
our common future and that of our children, grandchildren and
generations to follow us on our planet.
On the
same day as President Barack Obama's inauguration, China issued a white
paper outlining its national defense strategy on Tuesday. In that
paper, China pointed to a security situation that was "improving
steadily" overall. At the same time, the paper explicitly referred to
the growing threat from increased U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Over
Beijing's protest, the Pentagon announced last October a deal for the
sale of $6.5 billion in arms to Taiwan, including 30 Apache attack
helicopters, 330 Patriot missiles, and 32 Harpoon missiles.
A few
months ago, trucks loaded with goods crossed a border. All over the
world, this kind of thing happens every day, but not here. October
marked the first time in 60 years that Indian trucks loaded with apples
and walnuts traveled to Pakistan. The trucks returned carrying a
shipment of Pakistani rice and raisins.
Around the same time, India and Pakistan increased the number of
goods the two nations could trade from just 13 to nearly 2,000. They
opened new freight train lines and refurbished custom houses in
anticipation of vigorous cross border trade.
