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• Perspectives
  • Get Rid of All Nuclear Arms

• Take Action
  • Call for Vanunu’s Unconditional Release
  • Sign Petition to Investigate Iraqi Weapons Intelligence
  • Write to United Nations Security Council on Total Nuclear Disarmament
  • Participate in Anti-Nuclear Days of Action

• Proliferation
  • US Budget Proposals Reflects Military Ambitions
  • Iran Non-Compliance Raises “Serious Concerns”
  • North Korea Talks lead to Deeper Negotiations
  • Khan’s Nuclear Black Market Revealed
  • Pentagon Predicts Inevitability in Nuclear Proliferation

• Foundation News
  • Foundation Launches Online Peace Store
  • 3rd Annual Frank K. Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future
  • Gandhi Live!
  • Seeds of Peace Available at the Foundation

• Resources
  • Toward Nuclear Abolition: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement, 1971 to the Present
  • War No More: Eliminating Conflict in the Nuclear Age

• Quotable
  • Archbishop Desmond Tutu
  • Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  • George Soros

• Support
  • Support the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

• Team
  • Editors
  • Contributors

Get Rid of All Nuclear Arms | Top
by Adil Najam

President Bush's Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) provides the right solution, but to the wrong problem. Nuclear proliferation is merely a symptom; the real issue is the nuclear weapons themselves. And, in this sense, the PSI is no more than a Band-Aid, and a quite small one at that.

The recent scandal in Pakistan, where a corrupt scientist sold nuclear secrets for profit, only demonstrates that such traffic is much too lucrative to be stopped by increased policing. For 60 years, ever since Hiroshima, the U.S. and the world have tried to control the spread of nuclear weapons. We've tried treaties, economic sanctions and moral persuasion. And we've failed.
We could not stop the Soviets from getting nukes. We chose not to resist, and actually ignored, Israel's nuclear program. We looked the other way when India went nuclear and, thus, could do little when Pakistan followed suit. And we merely fumed when North Korea flexed its nuclear muscles. In the meantime, we have built and maintained the world's largest nuclear stockpile.

Can we contain Pakistan's nuclear program? Yes, we can. But first we will need to contain India's. To do that, however, India will need to see China's program rolled back. How does that happen? For that, we will need to start looking at our own. As my grandmother used to say, "If you point one finger at someone, at least three will point back at you." No one said this was easy!

Are we really surprised that the rest of the world rolls its eyes when we pontificate about the dangers of nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction in general — as when Bush referred to them as "the greatest threat to humanity today"? What other countries doubt is our sincerity. It is hypocritical to tell the rest of the world that nuclear weapons are good enough for us, but not for them. We can't have a world part nuclear and part not.

To read to full article, go to http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/02/18_najam_get-rid.htm

Call For Vanunu's Unconditional Release | Top

Mordechai Vanunu's supporters around the world continue to call for his freedom as they count down the days till his 21 April 2004 release date.

An international delegation, including Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire, will be in Israel to welcome Mordechai Vanunu to freedom, with participants from the United States, England, Israel, Holland, Italy, Australia, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Norway, and more. About 20 people from the U.S. will be joining the delegation, including coordinator Felice Cohen-Joppa and associate coordinator Art Laffin, adoptive parents Nick and Mary Eoloff, Episcopal Church representatives, anti-nuclear and human rights activists, Catholic Workers and others.

In late December and early January, a flurry of international media reports confirmed that Israeli authorities were contemplating various restrictions and conditions on Vanunu after his release date, including never allowing him to speak to the press or leave the country, and even administrative detention. On 24 February Prime Minister Sharon and other Israeli officials had a meeting to discuss their options. They decided that keeping Mordechai in administrative detention would likely not pass a High Court review. But they do plan to impose restrictions, including refusing to issue him a passport and permission to leave Israel.

With the same specious arguments used to consistently deny Vanunu parole, these authorities disingenuously claim that Vanunu still threatens Israel's security with unrevealed secrets. This is of course absurd. Mordechai Vanunu has been locked away from the world for almost 18 years and has nothing further to reveal.

In recent years, there has been more information about Dimona and Israel's nuclear arsenal on Israeli television, in Israeli newspapers and on the internet than Mordechai Vanunu ever knew or shared with the London Sunday Times. A recent Israeli television program showed graphics based on his clandestine photos of Dimona.

As Yael Lotan, co-founder of the Israeli Committee to Free Vanunu and for a Middle East Free From Weapons of Mass Destruction, recently wrote on behalf of the Committee, "We appeal to the Israeli and world public opinion to call on the Israeli government to stop this abuse and to set Mordechai Vanunu free. Instead of tormenting Vanunu, the Israeli government had better begin to shut down the Dimona reactor, sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and enter into negotiations to make the Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction."

Write to the Israeli Ambassador in your country and to other Israeli officials to demand Mordechai Vanunu's freedom. Tell them to release Mordechai Vanunu without condition or restriction. In April he will have served his entire sentence and has no more secrets to reveal. He should be allowed to leave Israel as a free man.
Sign the international petition, either online at http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu or contact the US Campaign to free Mordechai Vanunu for printed copies.
Visit your congressperson, or an aide in their local office, to speak with them about Mordechai Vanunu's scheduled release date. For more information, or to receive an information packet to bring with you, please contact the US Campaign.
Send a note of support to Mordechai Vanunu, Ashkelon Prison, Ashkelon, Israel.
Join a worldwide vigils scheduled on 21 April 2004 to celebrate Mordechai Vanunu's release. Are you interested in having a vigil in your city?

Contact the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu at P.O. Box 43384, Tucson, AZ 85733, phone/fax 520.323.8697, email freevanunu@mindspring.com or visit http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu for background information and regular updates. You can donate online at the campaign website, or mail checks or money orders made payable to the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu at the address above. (Checks and money orders of $50 or more can be tax-deductible if made payable to the Progressive Foundation.)

Sign Petition to Investigate Iraqi Weapons Intelligence | Top

Sign 2020Vision.org’s petition that demands an investigation into the Iraqi weapons intelligence. “With your help, we can reach our goal of 100,000 signatures by 20 March, one-year anniversary of the Iraqi invasion.”

Take action by signing this petition and forwarding the link to your friends and family.
http://www.advocacyinc.com/creative/2020/noflash_petition.htm

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are meeting behind closed doors to establish enforcement and obedience mechanisms to prevent nuclear proliferation by other countries. Contact your government leadership and UN representatives to ensure that the current negotiations among Britain, China, France, Russia and US includes language from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, calling for total nuclear disarmament.

Contact information for your representatives can be found here: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/govcontacts/govindex.html

From March 22-28, 2004, the Nuclear Information Resource Services is calling for an International Week of Anti-Nuclear Action surrounding the 25th Anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident. Events will be held across the country to oppose the "Nuclear Power Relapse."

Contact Kevin Kamps at the Nuclear Information Resource Service to learn about events in your area: kevin@nirs.org.

US Budget Proposal Reflects Escalating Ambitions | Top

The Bush administration has released its budget requests for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005. Below are highlights of the requests that reveal the US government’s continued ambitions to assign nuclear weapons a more usable role in national security policy.

Nuclear Expansion
In the FY 2005 budget request, the administration is seeking an increase in funding for Nuclear Weapons Activities by $332 million to $6.85 billion, exceeding Cold War spending levels. Requests include:

• $9 million for Advanced Concepts, including research on low-yield nuclear weapons (or “mini-nukes”), 50% more than funds approved in the FY 2004 budget.
• $27.6 million for “Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators” (or “bunker-busters), 268% more than funds approved in the FY 2004 budget.
• $29.8 million for Modern Pit Manufacturing Facility, 176% more than funds approved in the FY 2004 budget.
• $30 million for Enhanced Test Readiness, 20.5% more than funds approved in the FY 2004 budget.. The administration is also advocating an 18 month test readiness posture over the current 24 months.
• $10.2 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, a 12% increase over funds approved in the FY 2004 budget.

Weapons in Space
Despite broad international opposition, the Bush administration’s FY 2005 budget request overview revealed intentions to station the first weapons in space. Proposed US spending plans include an unspecified sum for developing and testing “advanced, lightweight, space-based (missile) interceptor components.”

In addition, the Missile Defense Agency is seeking $47 million to start “technology development” for such weapons that could be integrated into the US missile defense program in Jan 2012.

Sources: The Globe and Mail, 24 February 2004; Global Security Newswire , 11 February 2004.
“ FY 2005 highlights: Non-Proliferation Programs and Department of Energy’s Weapons-Related Activities,” Arms Control Center, 3 February 2004; Reuters, 2 February 2004.

In a report released on 24 February 2004, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed that Iran failed to declare its possession of blueprints for a P-2 centrifuge, an advanced uranium enrichment centrifuge used for the production of weapons-grade material. The report also said inspectors found undeclared components of the centrifuge at the Doshan-Tappeh air force base in Tehran.

Washington has expressed “serious concerns” about the undeclared nuclear technology, claiming that the IAEA report may be the first link between Iran’s nuclear program and its military. The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly denied the report, stating that Iran “has not had, nor does it have, military nuclear activities.”

In response, Hassan Rohani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said Iran was under no obligation to declare research on P-2 centrifuges, which it had not developed.

The report also alleged Iran to be experimenting with polonium, a radioactive substance that can trigger a nuclear blast. Rohani denied that Iran had been using polonium for enrichment, saying that its activities are at a research stage.
Iran’s omissions to the IAEA have raised questions over its willingness to cooperate with the United Nations, especially when the country had agreed to make a full disclosure of its nuclear activities. "I hope this will be the last time any aspect of the program has not been declared to us," said Mohammed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Sources: Boston Globe, 27 February 2004; BBC News, 12, 19, 23, 24 and 25 February 2004; New York Times, 13 and 25 February 2004; Reuters, 14 February 2004.

North Korea Talks Lead to Deeper Negotiations | Top

Following a second round of six-party talks on 28 February 2004, the US and North Korea said they are committed to deepening negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The two nations pledged to meet in smaller working groups and they will hold a formal session before the end of June. Although the negotiations ended in another deadlock, diplomats described the tone during the talks as constructive.

At the end of the talks, the US rejected North Korea’s offer to freeze but not permanently give up its nuclear facilities in return for energy aid and security assurances. Likewise, North Korea rejected the US demand that North Korea agree to the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all its nuclear capabilities.

Prior to the talks, South Korean delegate Lee Soo-Hyun outlined a three-step proposal to resolve the stand-off, offering “countermeasures” to reward the North, including an offer by South Korea, China and Russia to supply energy assistance to the North in return for a verifiable freeze in its nuclear program. Other parties were reported to have welcomed the offer, but it was not clear if it included North Korea’s suspected uranium enrichment and plutonium production programs.

Sources: BBC News, 24, 25 and 26 February 2004; New York Times, 27 and 29 February 2004; Associated Press, 8 February 2004.

The “father” of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has signed a confession admitting that he provided Iran, North Korea and Libya with the designs and technology to produce the fuel for nuclear weapons during the last 15 years.

This follows Pakistan’s leader General Pervez Musharraf’s previous insistence that his country and its nuclear scientists had no role to play in illicit nuclear technology transfers. Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto challenged the idea that Musharraf was unaware of Pakistani participation in selling nuclear technology within a black market network.

Khan’s confession included admission of trafficking components for building centrifuges needed to produce highly enriched uranium for nuclear bombs. The center of the Khan network is suspected to be a trading company run by a Sri Lankan middleman in Dubai, extending to middlemen in Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey and Malaysia.

On 23 February 2004, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohammed ElBaradei said that finding out whether other countries had acquired nuclear weapons technology was "an important and urgent concern for us," and added, "We agreed that we will make every effort to come to a closure on this issue hopefully by …. our June [IAEA] Board of Governors [meeting]."

Sources: BBC News, 24 February 2004; Financial Times, 11 February 2004; Associated Press, 20 February 2004; The Guardian, 6 February 2004; New York Times, 2 February 2004.

A previously classified report prepared by the Pentagon in October 2003 warns that climate change is a far greater threat than terrorism and may lead to global catastrophes that will cost millions of lives.

The report entitled, “An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security,” predicts that "abrupt climate change could bring the planet to the edge of anarchy as countries develop a nuclear threat to defend and secure dwindling food, water and energy supplies."

Describing nuclear weapons proliferation as inevitable, the report states that “nuclear energy will become a critical source of power, and this will accelerate nuclear proliferation as countries develop enrichment and reprocessing capabilities to ensure their national security. China, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Great Britain, France and Germany will all have nuclear weapons capabilities, as will Israel, Egypt and North Korea.”

The report was commissioned by defense advisor Andrew Marshall, an influential Pentagon consultant over the past 30 years. Bob Watson, chief scientist for World Bank and former chair of intergovernmental panel on climate change, added that the Pentagon’s dire warnings “could no longer be ignored.”

To view the full report visit: http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/schwartz.pdf

Source: Agence France-Presse, 23 February 2004; The Observer, 22 February 2004.

Bush Announces Plans to Curb WMD Proliferation | Top

In a speech at the National Defense University on 11 February 2004, President Bush outlined seven steps that his administration will take to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Bush stated that the “greatest threat before humanity today is the possibility of a secret and sudden attack with chemical or biological or radiological or nuclear weapons,” and that such weapons “are becoming easier to acquire, build, hide and transport,” calling for measures to forge a stronger, more effective and multilateral non-proliferation policy.

While Bush proposed key initiatives such as tightening export controls by leading nuclear supplier nations, strengthening intelligence and law enforcement against “rogue” proliferators, and expanding efforts to eliminate or secure nuclear weapons fuel. Many argue that the steps are based on double standards that allow some states to possess nuclear arsenals outside of international inspections and safeguards, while imposing more rigorous standards on other states.

Bush’s remarks did not recognize that established nuclear powers, including the US, undermine proliferation efforts when they continue to develop new nuclear weapons and maintain existing stockpiles. In advocating for international efforts, President Bush’s speech did not back the proposal by translating the recommendations into implementing practical US policy measures.

In an opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times the following day, Mohammed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the world could be headed to destruction if the spread of nuclear technology is not stopped.

In addition to reiterating President Bush’s calls, ElBaradei made further recommendations, including bringing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty into line with the demands of the 21st century and calling on the nuclear weapon states who signed the treaty – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – to fulfill their obligations under Article VI of the treaty by initiating negotiations towards disarmament.

To view President Bush’s Speech on “Strengthening International Efforts Against Weapons of Mass Destruction,” please visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/print/20040211-4.html

To view the editorial, “Saving Ourselves From Self-Destruction,” by IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, please visit: http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/2004/ebNYT20040212.html

Sources: “Speech on Strengthening International Efforts Against Weapons of Mass Destruction” by President Bush, 11 February 2004; New York Times, 12 February 2004; Reuters, 12 February 2004.

France Rejects Miniature Nuclear Weapons | Top

On 2 February 2004, French Minister of Defense Michele Alliot-Marie announced that her country has renounced the option of miniaturized nuclear weapons because they do not correspond to the deterrence principles that govern France’s possession of nuclear weapons. The minister underlined the point that “to develop such weapons would raise questions about whether our doctrine was evolving towards use, and we reject that.”

However France, like the US, is at the stage of preliminary research into these weapons and not of "development" (perfecting and producing them). To renounce them definitively would imply renouncing the current research. On the contrary, the Minister reaffirmed the need to maintain the entirety of the Loi de Programmation Militaire 2003-2008 and to devote to it all the funds needed. On 14 November 2003 she visited and brought her determined support to CESTA research facility (the Centre d'Etudes Scientifiques et Techniques d'Aquitaine located near Bordeaux at Le Barp.) There the army is exploring the possibility of using lasers (LIL and LMJ) for "lighting" thermonuclear fusion that could make it possible one day to build hydrogen bombs of limited power. When this research is complete, it will then be possible to reopen the "question of use" and to opt for "development".

In her speech to the 56th session of the Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Defense Nationale, Alliot-Marie stated, “Nuclear deterrence is still up-to-date. In a dangerous and unpredictable world, the great powers possessing nuclear weapons are not at all thinking of abandoning it.” Thus, France - with the four other nuclear states who are parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) - will continue to flout their "unequivocal undertaking” to eliminate the totality of their nuclear arsenals which they together made on 19 May 2000 in the final statement of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. If these five states do not honor their undertakings, then the non-nuclear states in the NPT have no reason to honor theirs. Thus France, the US, the UK, China and Russia are actively encouraging the very proliferation that they claim to be combating, and fuelling it further by exporting technologies, materials, and so-called "civilian" nuclear substances that can easily be diverted to military purposes.

Source: Agence France-Press, 2 February 2004; Action des Citoyens pour le Désarmement Nucléaire, 13 February 2004

Libyan Confessions Lead to Further Nuclear Finds | Top

According to a report issued on 20 February 2004, the IAEA indicated that Libya had been operating a more advanced and longer-running program to develop nuclear weapons than previously imagined. Libya’s nuclear program has been in operation since the 1980s, “[relying] heavily on support from foreign sources.”

The report indicated that Libya has managed to convert enriched uranium into plutonium, but the amount produced was insufficient to make a nuclear bomb. Libya also assembled the basic components to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon, and had ordered 10,000 advanced uranium centrifuges, which the country had previously attempted to purchase from Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Libya has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its intentions to retain several nuclear facilities, including a uranium conversion plant that the US is planning to dismantle and transfer out of the country. In response, IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei said "They [the Libyans] want to keep their research reactor, which is legitimate." He added that the IAEA would support Tripoli's wish to "continue with extended peaceful use activities... once we eliminate the military-related programs."

Sources: BBC News, 20 and 23 February 2004; Reuters, 22 February 2004; LA Times, 21 February 2004; The Independent, 11 and 12 February 2004.

On 16 February 2004, US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton held talks with China on President Bush’s Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), urging China to support efforts in curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction by helping to seize arms and related materials in transit. China has remained non-committal in signing the PSI.

During the meeting, Bolton stopped short of criticizing China over reports that nuclear weapons designs found in Libya came from China through a Pakistani network. While confirming that documents were found, Bolton declined to say if China was directly involved in Libya’s attempt to construct a nuclear weapons program.

The talks follow a “statement of intent” signed on 12 January 2004, which pledges to increase cooperation between the two nations on a range of non-proliferation and security activities, including efforts to strengthen export control, international nuclear safeguards, physical protection of nuclear materials and facilities, nuclear emergency management and radioactive source security.

Sources: Financial Times, 16 February, 2004; Arms Control Today News Update, Arms Control Association, February 2004.

Russia to Penetrate US Missile Defense? | Top

Moscow performed strategic military exercises that included test launches of ballistic missiles and test flights of strategic bombers during mid-February 2004. Following failures to launch two ballistic missiles due to satellite error, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Colonel Gen Yuri Baluyevsky announced that Russia has “successfully tested a space vehicle that could lead to weapons capable of penetrating missile defenses."

Baluyevsky said the device tested "was a hypersonic vehicle - one that moves at more than five times the speed of sound - that could maneuver in orbit." He added that the maneuvers will help Russia develop the means to penetrate the US missile defense system.

The military exercises were believed to be a political demonstration aimed at bolstering current President Vladimir Putin’s popularity prior to the Russian presidential elections that will take place in mid-March. Putin has pledged to return Russia to the days when it was a powerful global player.
" Not a single country in the world has such a weapons system at the moment," Putin said, adding that the new "powerful means of warfare" would be deployed with the Strategic Rocket Forces "in the near future."

Sources: Asia Times, 25 February 2004; LA Times, 19 February 2004; Associated Press, 10 and 19 February 2004; BBC News, 17 February 2004.

The Pentagon is planning to launch the first phase of its mid-course missile defense shield by Summer 2004, months ahead of schedule. The original plan called for missile interceptors to be based in Fort Greely by 30 September 2004.

With Australia, Britain and Japan on board the US missile defense project, the recent announcement will increase pressure on Canada to make a decision very soon on whether to join the program.

On 8 January, Representative John Spratt (D-SC), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, said Bush’s missile defense system is far from ready, stating that several crucial elements of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system would not be fielded in October 2004 as sufficient technological development has not been achieved.

Source: Ottawa Citizen, 6 February 2004, Arms Control Today

Musharraf Refuses International Inspections | Top

On 17 February, Pakistani leader General Pervez Musharraf stated that “Pakistan would [under] no circumstances permit foreign inspectors to enter the country and monitor its nuclear weapons or civil nuclear facilities.” He added, “Would any other nuclear power allow its sensitive installations [to] be inspected? Why should Pakistan be expected to allow anybody to inspect?”

Declaring that Pakistan had no intention of freezing its nuclear weapons program, Musharraf insisted that they are “doing everything according to international standards.”

Both Pakistan and India announced at the Munich Security Conference in early February that they do not intend to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Sources: BBC News, 18 February 2004; Financial Times, 17 February 2004.

US Nuclear Fuel Conversion Plant Delayed | Top

Construction of a $1.6 billion nuclear fuel conversion facility to be built at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has been delayed due to ongoing disagreements between Russia and the US.

The facility, known as the MOX (mixed oxide fuel) Plant will convert weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

The US and Russia have committed to disposing of 68 metric tons of plutonium leftover from Cold War nuclear stockpiles. But Russian Federation officials want the US to pick up the liability tab for work done in Russia, which has delayed the project. “Because the Russian facility is delayed, so is the US facility,” said Bryan Wilkes, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

In 2002, legislation was drafted to enforce a strict deadline for the MOX project by charging $100 million a year for delays in completion. “The liability problem remains unsolved,” said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. “However, we are determined to resolve this issue in time to prevent slippages that will prevent us from meeting our 2009 commitments.”

Sources: The Augusta Chronicle, 25 February 2004; The Beaufort Gazette, 4 February 2004.

Yucca Mountain Opposition Increases | Top

Despite unresolved safety issues and legal challenges, Bush’s proposal for the Fiscal Year 2005 budget recommends increasing spending on the Yucca Mountain storage facility by 50 percent to $880 million.

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) confirmed new data this year that validates existing concerns about potential leaks at the US proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

In a report issued to the Department of Energy (DoE), the NWTRB revealed that sufficient data had been collected revealing that corrosion on most canisters is likely to occur during the first 2,000 or 3,000 years of the repository’s life.

In support of NWTRB’s evidence, Paul Craig, a scientist from University of California-Davis, recently resigned from a federal panel of experts on Yucca Mountain in order to speak freely about the problems with the DoE’s design for Yucca Mountain, specifically addressing the potential for high-temperature waste to corrode the steel waste canisters.

“The science is very clear,” Craig told the Associated Press in an interview, “If we get high-temperature liquids, the metal would corrode and that would eventually lead to leakage of nuclear waste.”

In addition to the NWTRB’s scientific evidence regarding safety issues, the State of Nevada has protested the repository through pending lawsuits and the indigenous Western Shoshone National Council is challenging the US Government over land rights.

Source: Inter Press Service, 12 February 2004; Associated Press, 19 February 2004; The Las Vegas Sun, 27 February 2004.

On 2 February 2004, the Bush Administration proposed an energy budget for the 2005 fiscal year that would increase revenues for nuclear and fossil fuel industries while cutting energy efficiency and conservation programs.

The administration’s blueprint allocates funding to construct a new generation of nuclear reactors. The proposed energy budget promotes nuclear proliferation by reversing a long-standing US policy against reprocessing waste from commercial nuclear reactors, and using plutonium to generate commercial energy. The proposed budget would also increase funding by 16% to launch the administration’s black hydrogen initiative that would use unsustainable energy sources such as nuclear and coal to generate hydrogen.

Additionally, in order to increase spending on fossil fuels and nuclear industries, the Bush administration proposed cutting funding to Department of Energy programs that support the use of renewable energy sources such as solar and biomass.

Source: Legislative Watch, 19 February 2004.

Al-Qaeda Suspected of Possessing Tactical Nukes | Top

Al-Hayat, pan-Arab newspaper reported on 8 February 2004 that al-Qaeda had bought tactical nuclear weapons from Ukraine in 1998. The paper did not indicate the number of weapons bought or who the supplier was, but it reported that al-Qaeda would only use the weapons in the US, or if the group faced a “crushing blow” which threatened its existence, such as the use of weapons of mass destruction against them.

Source: Reuters, 8 February 2004.

Foundation Launches Online Peace Store | Top

The Foundation is pleased to announce it has launched an online Peace Store! Here you will find Foundation books, publications and apparel. Looking for a gift for that someone special? All of our items are sure to please any peace-loving person. With your purchase, you will be supporting our work! All proceeds from the sale of these items will be used to expand the Foundation’s work for peace and a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons. Click here to visit the Peace Store and please check back frequently for new items!

On 17 February 2004, Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, an eminent author and speaker and human rights activist, presented the third annual Frank K. Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future. Dame Roddick’s lecture, entitled “Kindness as Key to Humanity’s Future,” called for a revolution in kindness. Envisioning an achievable future in which people care for each other and live with compassion, Dame Roddick’s lecture explored such a future for humanity and the means to attain it.

“Kindness should not be passive,” she said. “Kindness applied with focus and determination can be a revolutionary force.” Dame Roddick asked everyone to imagine what institutions would look like – businesses, schools, health care systems, legal systems, churches – were there to be a revolution in kindness.

In this day and age where economic value supercedes every other human value, Dame Roddick’s call for kindness and forgiveness in every being and institution encourages each individual to strive daily to be a revolutionary force for change in this often oppressive world. Her call is also a challenge for governments and the powers that be to stop measuring their greatness in economic terms and start measuring by the way they treat the weak and the frail.

The full text of Dame Roddick’s lecture will be published and widely disseminated in the near future.

To order a copy of previous lectures, please visit the Foundation’s Peace Store or call the Foundation’s offices at (805) 965-3443.

Gandhi Live! | Top

On 18 February 2004, the Foundation and Santa Barbara City College International and Global Studies Program presented a lecture entitled, “Mahatma Gandhi Live!: Gandhi’s Message in Gandhi’s Character” to some 60 students and members of the community. Dr. Shall Sinha, a leading expert on the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi, presented the lecture.

“What would Gandhi say if he came to speak to Santa Barbara at this time on this occasion?" With that question in mind, Dr. Sinha drew some relevant stories from Gandhi's life and weaved them with today’s prevailing issues.

Dr. Sinha possesses a library that contains over 50,000 pages of collected works of Mahatma Gandhi. In costume, he bares a remarkable resemblance to the real Gandhi. Dr. Sinha is the author of 4 books including, Words of Wisdom from Mahatma Gandhi.

For more information on Dr. Sinha’s work or to schedule a visit from Gandhi in your community, please visit http://www.ssinha.com/index.htm.

"Sunflowers instead of missiles in the soil would ensure peace for future generations." Secretary of Defense William Perry’s words have inspired the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Now available at the wagingpeace.org Peace Store are Seeds of Peace. You can purchase a packet of sunflower seeds and sow peace in your community and in your own garden.

Visit http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/store/other/seeds-of-peace.htm to buy your seeds of peace.

The Struggle against the Bomb Volume Three: Toward Nuclear Abolition:
A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement, 1971 to the Present | Top

Toward Nuclear Abolition is the third and final volume in a trilogy that examines the efforts of civil society to rein in the hawkish elements of global leadership that promulgate nuclear weapons as essential elements to global security. Author Lawrence Wittner credits citizen activists with many successes in the movement towards nuclear disarmament, “Recounting the history of nuclear arms control and disarmament without referring to the antinuclear movement, is like telling the story of civil rights legislation without referring to the civil rights movement.” The Struggle against the Bomb Volume 3 is available for purchase from online and local retailers.

Visit http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/01/00_kent_toward-nuc-abolition.htm for Bruce Kent’s complete review of the book.

This book is a service to humanity. It makes the case that war is no longer a viable way of resolving conflicts and that the institution of war must be abolished. Both of the authors are scientists who have given considerable thought to the role that science and technology have played in increasing the dangers of war and bringing humanity to the brink of annihilation. The authors bring broad experience and wisdom to their task of finding a way out of the culture of war. War No More is available for purchase from online and local retailers.

Visit http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/02/00_krieger_seeking.htm for David Krieger’s complete review of the book.

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