Defense agency kills Divine Strake test explosion

[Quiet_Dem_Mom]

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5281799


WASHINGTON - Breaking under a flood of public opposition to Divine Strake, the Pentagon announced Thursday that it would scrap plans to conduct the massive blast at the Nevada Test Site.

Some 10,000 Utahns and Nevadans expressed fears that the detonation of 700 tons of explosives could spew debris into the air, carrying radiation left over from Cold War nuclear weapons tests at the test site.

"I have become convinced that it's time to look at alternative methods that obviate the need for this type of large-scale test," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Director Dr. James A. Tegnelia said in a statement announcing the cancellation of the test.

The agency said the decision was not a result of any information that indicated the test might harm workers or the public.
Divine Strake touched a raw nerve with Utahns, still deeply distrustful of government assurances on testing at the Nevada Test Site. Thousands of Utahns suffered from cancer and other illnesses as a result of the radioactive fallout. The test was opposed by members of Utah's congressional delegation, the state Legislature, the governor, activists and others.


This is my first LBN link...I hope I followed the protocol.

QDM

[hippiechick]

1. You did marvellously!

:applause: and welcome to the posting world!


Glad this nonsense was cancelled. :thumbsup:

[Quiet_Dem_Mom]

22. Thanks for the warm welcome!

:hi:

[Greyskye]

2. Great news!

:kick:

[krispos42]

3. Randi will be pleased... n/t

[Judi Lynn]

4. Wow, this is such good news, Quiet Dem Mom.

You really have to wonder why they changed their minds so suddenly. Whatever it was, it's wonderful that they pulled back.

Congrats to the people in Nevada and the surrounding area.

Great post, Quiet Dem Mom! Welcome to D.U. :hi: :hi: :hi:

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Somebody reminded them that no nuclear device ever tested

failed to detonate, therefore a test of the new bunker buster mini-nuke was really unnecessary.

[Igel]

10. No mini-nuke was going to be tested.

It only involved conventional explosives. Just a lot of them. The radiation concerns dealt with radioactive materials deposited years ago that might be sent into the atmosphere and dispersed by wind.

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. That's what they said, and I never believed them.

I have always contended that the "700 tons of explosives" was a sham, meant to cover the test of a bunker-buster, and that the radioativity it produced would be explained away as leftovers from previous tests.

Why?

Because there is absolutely no sense in blowing up 700 tons of conventional explosives just to simulate a nuclear explosion. We KNOW what a nuclear explosion will do, through hundreds of tests. We know how the shock waves will affect underground structures like bunkers. We know how much debris will be produced in the atmosphere. The only information this test could possibly give us, is will the bunker-buster nuke work - and to find that out you need to test the bunker buster, not blow up 700 tons of conventional explosives.

[PATRICK]

18. The whole exposed idea

and why it was canceled, even if slowly to continue to provide cover for the intent, was that it was intended for nuclear debris to be cast into the wind currents for study. The trouble is that the government didn't want anyone else to know and track this themselves. Politically, militarily, the cover blown the secret experiment goal is over. This is typical military experimentation familiar to the fifties which is in keeping with retrograde neocon planning.

as for bunker busters inevitability might make testing for efficacy irrelevant. Supposed to hit Iran for the Israelis and Saudis. Hit Iran. Mission accomplished. I think the only real goal is to murder their governing circles and create simple chaos, not effectively gut their nuclear program. Of course, our shoddy record in attempting that smart decapitation in the past is a whole other post.

[Richard Steele]

25. Would you believe that NEVER EVEN OCCURRED to me?

I fell pretty stupid- it's so OBVIOUS! D'OH!

[ninkasi]

5. You did great!

Welcome to DU, it's good to have you here.:hi: :hi: :hi:

[Quiet_Dem_Mom]

23. Thank you for the warm welcome!

:hi:

[Ex Lion Tamer]

6. "Divine?" What the f*ck?

"Unholy" is more like it.

[Julius Civitatus]

8. This admin. has an obsession with Armageddon and biblical themes

Bush and company sure feel like they are here to bring "gods wrath" on earth. They are weird.

[dansolo]

20. Like "Shock and Awe"?

Most people don't believe me when I tell them that "Shock and Awe" is evangelical codespeak.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhinah

[rumpel]

7. Congratulations!

The power of We The People in action!


:applause:

[Vincardog]

11. This is Greatest news. Let's stop their next insane plan IRAN

[Kagemusha]

12. I'm not sure the worst case fears were justified but, who needed this?

We know that 700 tons of explosives makes a big boom. That's been established already. It's not going to prove anything new. That may be a slight oversimplification but it just seems to be an extraneous thing intended to prove a point for someone. I never understood the real world necessity. Seems to be just something that bunker buster nuke lovers wanted done to prove viability without an actual nuclear explosion.

[Janice325]

13. Wow, it's nice to have some good news for a change.

Thanks, Quiet_Dem_Mom, and welcome to DU!
:hi:

[DeepModem Mom]

14. Welcome to LBN, Quiet_Dem_Mom -- the more Moms the better!

[Quiet_Dem_Mom]

24. Mom's Unite!

Thank you for your warm welcome.

I tell ya, I'm such a nerd that I was nervous about posting. Although I read DU almost obsessively, I don't post much!

QDM



:hug:

[Hekate]

15. Thank God. My son lives in Las Vegas, so it feels more personal. nt

[Hekate]

16. Btw, does anyone know what "strake" means? I can't figure it out. nt

[Jazzgirl]

21. To Stretch.

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/strake

Main Entry: strake
Pronunciation: 'strAk
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English; akin to Old English streccan to stretch -- more at STRETCH
1 : a continuous band of hull planking or plates on a ship; also : the width of such a band
2 : STREAK, STRIPE

[youngdem]

19. Guess they are just gonna test it on Iran instead?

:shrug: