WESTERN EUROPE-Apprehensions about Neutron Bomb

Apprehensions about Neutron Bomb Ramnath Narayanswamy THE US President has decided to steam forward with the full production of neutron weapons despite the storm of protest that this could entail in Western Europe. Reports from the White House assert that neutron warheads would be stockpiled in the United States but would not be sent to Europe "at the present time". These weapons are designed to kill people without severe damage to their surroundings since they produce more radiation and less heat and blast than tactical nuclear weapons now available. The present decision eclipses earlier discussions held in 1978 about their future deployment and had then led to strains in the Atlantic alliance by lending credence to fears widespread in Europe that these weapons were likely to replace the already destructive potential of existing nuclear weapons. But as events have shown, far from being allayed, these fears have proved to be well founded.