The Bomb Still Goes Bang...!

Lying about something and giving it another name is, to me, the same thing.

Of course, politicians being what they are...they figured out a way to get the money they wanted anyway. I wonder who was the dumbest? The guys wanting the money, or the guys handing it out!

The Pentagon’s Neutron Bomb

The Pentagon realized long ago that selling people on thermonuclear weapons requires some changes in lingo. In the late 1970s, the Pentagon was trying to get Senate funding to develop the neutron bomb. Instead of actually calling it a neutron bomb, it was termed an “enhanced radiation device.” It turns out that the trick worked, and the Pentagon got the funding it asked for. The term “enhanced radiation device” continues to be used today.

Technically, the Pentagon wasn’t really lying. The neutron bomb does release far more radiation than a standard nuke. The main benefit (in the military’s eyes) was that the blast was smaller and very little of the radiation was residual. This meant that a lot of people would die instantly and that cities wouldn’t be turned into rubble. The US military felt this would be a great way to kill Soviet troops while leaving most of the surrounding buildings intact. Unfortunately, the term that was chosen for the weapon sounds more like a cancer treatment than a nuclear bomb.

In my way of thinking, the damn things are still evil! I mean, talk about a tool of the Devil, then this is it! Just my opinion, however.

Coffee out on the patio this morning.