DEFENSE: Yellow Light for the Neutron Bomb

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As in the B-1 debate (TIME, July 11), Carter will be the final arbiter. Though he approved funding the weapon's production, he made it clear that "I have not yet decided whether to advocate the deployment of the neutron bomb." The prospect of using any nuclear weapon was "sobering," he told his news conference. But Carter also said that since "the destruction would be much less" if a neutron bomb were used within allied territory, the weapon "ought to be one of our options." In a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carter made what is the central point for some of the bomb's supporters. "By enhancing deterrence," he wrote, neutron weapons "could make it less likely" that he would have to use any nuclear weapons at all. After Carter's statement on the bomb, the Senate passed the funding bill by a comfortable 58-to-38 margin.

Before Carter makes any final decision—probably late next month—he will study reports from both the Pentagon, which will certainly recommend a go-ahead, and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, whose duty it is to analyze the impact of any new nuclear weapon on arms control negotiations. A draft report from ACDA says the neutron bomb—at least those carried in the 8-in. artillery shells—would not appreciably affect the SALT talks. At this point, Carter appears to have bought the argument.