Jeffrey LewisCISAC SMACKDOWN!

CISAC has made audio files of its August 11 Seminar Post-Cold War U. S. Nuclear Strategy:A Search for Technical and Policy Common Ground available on their website.

Representative David Hobson (R-OH) just takes the piss out of the nuclear weapons complex — he thinks “some of the staff and certainly much of thinking [at the labs] is of the same vintage” as the Cold War (4:18) and that the “arrogance of some of the people who runs these places [the labs] is appalling” (14:02). Hobson also revealed:

  • Some government officials, perhaps in the Administraiton, discussed using nuclear weapons during Operation Iraqi Freedom (9:09).
  • The Administration has money budgeted to build new nuclear weapons in the out years of the FYDP (9:49).
  • More security lapses at Los Alamos will come to light (14:54).

A Republican taking on the Bush Administration/’s plans for the nuclear weapons complex is worth a listen.

Also of note …

During the Panel I Q&A, Mark Gubrud gets attacked (at 9:16) by another audience member (you can hear the attacker yelling “C’mon!”) while attempting to denounce the “American initiated war of agression” in Iraq.

During Panel II, Director of the Policy Planning Staff at NNSA John Harvey talks smack about Representive Hobson, claiming Hobson (1) can’t decide if the US is in compliance with Article 6 of the NPT (16:34) and (2) made “mis-statements” about the rationale for sizing the Modern Pit Facility (16:52-18:06; Hobson’s description occurs at 20:59 in his talk).

Harvey also makes little asides at 3:38 and 8:10. Meow.