The U.S. is planning for a new generation of nuclear bombs that are smaller, less powerful ? and that the Pentagon might actually use in battle. Although officials insist that they have no present plans to build such bombs, recent steps make it clear that they want to fully explore their options, and get the deteriorating U.S. nuclear weapons complex in shape so they could move to quickly develop and test such arms, if the order comes.
A decade after its fiery combat debut in the Persian Gulf War, the capabilities of the Patriot antimissile system remain so uncertain that it will play only a secondary role if the United States again goes to war with Iraq, say U.S. officials and analysts.
U.S. efforts in the late 1970s to pressure Argentina to end the torture and killing of leftists were restrained in part by an American desire to keep the military junta from developing a nuclear bomb, newly declassified U.S. government papers show.
The Bush administration has directed the military to prepare contingency plans to use nuclear weapons against at least seven countries and to build smaller nuclear weapons for use in certain battlefield situations, according to a classified Pentagon report.
Pakistan's military seems to have firm control of the arsenal, but some in U.S. worry that sending troops could lead to unrest in which dissidents could seize the weapons.
The Pentagon is exploring development of a futuristic "space bomber" that could destroy targets on the other side of the world in 30 minutes but could also intensify the growing international debate over the militarization of space.
The Chinese government may be building a powerful anti-satellite laser that could deprive the U.S. military of a key advantage in any future conflict in Asia by disabling the American fleet of "spies in the sky," the Pentagon has warned.