Congressman favors nuclear
strike
By Heather Mangold
City
Editor
Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer said the United
States should consider the use of nuclear weapons on Afghanistan and
Purdue professors say his words are too strong.
Buyer, who is an Army veteran of the 1991 Gulf
War, said he would support the use of small nuclear weapons in Afghanistan
if terrorists led by Osama bin Laden have used biological weapons against
Americans.
"Before you start putting special forces in
to do sweeps of targets with biological weapons or traps, I would support
the use of a small tactical nuclear device to seal those caves for a
thousand years," Buyer told The Associated Press.
Buyer said he had not spoken with anyone from the
Bush administration, but still felt the use of nuclear weapons could
be appropriate.
Harry Targ, a professor of political science, said
he was not surprised by the nature of Buyer’s statement due to
the fact that the congressman has taken extreme positions on the issue
in question before.
"I’m not totally surprised. I think it
is horrible to contemplate," said Targ. "And from my point
of view, it’s totally irresponsible for one of our congressional
leaders to talk about nuclear weapons."
Targ said that he’s been a critic of the entire
Bush administration and its policies since it responded to the terrorist
attacks on Sept. 11.
"I think it’s correct to try and capture
those who committed the terrorist acts, but the policy that we’ve
pursued has ended up causing physical destruction in Afghanistan —
the deaths, we don’t even know how many," said Targ.
For Buyer to say the United States should use nuclear
weapons to make a policy would mean dire consequences for the people
of Afghanistan, said Targ. He said to add the threat of nuclear weapons
to the already incorrect nature of Bush’s policy would be "grotesque."
Targ said that relief efforts have reported large
amounts of destruction in Afghanistan, making it difficult to bring
food and supplies into the areas of damage.
Berenice Carroll, a professor of political science,
said nuclear weapons would in no way bring the United States closer
to the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center in New York and
the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C.
"And quite likely not those who are currently
doing these anthrax attacks, who may or may not be terrorists,"
said Carroll. "In no way are those nuclear weapons in Afghanistan
going to help us end those attacks."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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