On 3/18/2011 8:07 PM, dpb wrote:
On 3/18/2011 7:19 PM, Robatoy wrote:
...

I agree with your assessment Israel managing an arsenal of bombs.
My point was that I understand why Iamadinnerjacket wants some too. If
you have a capable nuclear weapons program, you are much less likely
to get bullied...IOW, don't **** off the guy who has a pistol when you
don't have one.

Of course...but that seems to miss the initial point I was making
initially...

And, that was specifically aimed at the question of why the US doesn't
reprocess raised; the basic reason is that there is still that edict in
place so we can't.

NB: That's not to say that we would necessarily be reprocessing without
it even if GE had gotten their licensing application approved; TMI
occurred not too long after and what w/ the furor over it and 18-20%
interest rates it's not at all clear GE could have managed to get the
plant built, anyway.

And, of course, many of those who envisioned reprocessing initially or
did at one time have also quit simply owing to the economics; at present
demand and prices, it's cheaper to not. That's particularly true w/ the
large quantities of HEU returned from the former USSR that is gradually
being blended down that saves all the SWUs required for enrichment.

We'll just have to "hide and watch" and see what shakes out politically
from the current mess in Japan; it's going to throw a spanner in the
works everywhere, justified or not (and some may well be but it'll gum
up everything far beyond the necessary/commensense point; that's just
the way we do things here).

--