Comparing the Positions of Senators Obama and McCain on Nuclear Disarmament

By David Krieger

A major goal of the next president of the United States should be to achieve a clear path to the elimination of all nuclear weapons. This will require making a commitment to the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world; bringing US policy in line with this commitment; and convening negotiations with the other nuclear weapon states to achieve this goal.

Both leading presidential candidates have articulated a commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons. Senator Obama has said, “A world without nuclear weapons is profoundly in America’s interest and the world’s interest. It is our responsibility to make the commitment, and to do the hard work to make this vision a reality. That’s what I’ve done as a Senator and a candidate, and that’s what I’ll do as President.” To read more, click here.

 

Collective Statement to the UC Regents from DOELOC

As the UC Student Department of Energy Laboratory Oversight Committee, an Associated Student Government Committee present on multiple UC campuses, we are charged with educating the students, faculty, and staff at this University as well as media and the general public about the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories managed by the UC and its partners, Bechtel, B&W, and the Washington Division of the URS Corporation. Last month, members of the Student Department of Energy Laboratory Oversight Committee here at UCSB held a potentially productive meeting with Regent Pattiz. Mr. Pattiz assured us that he would encourage the other Regents on this board to meet with our committee. We believe that it is our responsibility to provide the Regents of the University with accurate, factual information about the work of the laboratories, which we do not believe is adequately provided either by the laboratories themselves, or by the Regents Committee on Oversight of the Laboratories. To read more, click here.

Questions for the Candidates

By Mikhail Gorbachev

Article originally appeared in the International Herald Tribune

There has been unusual interest throughout the world in the U.S. presidential race.

Skeptics, of whom there are quite a few, say the campaign is just a marathon show that has little to do with real policymaking. Even if there's a grain of truth in that, in an interdependent world the statements of the contenders for the White House are more than just rhetoric addressed to American voters.

Major policy problems today cannot be solved without America - and America cannot solve them alone.

Even the domestic problems of the United States are no longer purely internal. I am referring first of all to the economy. The problem of the huge U.S. budget deficit can be managed, for a time, by continuing to flood the world with “greenbacks,” whose rate is declining along with the value of U.S. securities. But such a system cannot work forever. To read more, click here.

 

Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) Gets No Funds for 2009

After a controversial four years, RRW continues to receive no Congressional funding.

2008 marks the second year that Congress has refused to fund the Bush Administration’s requests for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program. On July 10, 2008, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its energy and water appropriations bill for 2009 and did not include money for RRW. Likewise, on June 25, 2008 the House Appropriations Committee marked up its  energy and water appropriations bill and did not include money for RRW.

A month earlier, on May 22, the House also passed its 2009 Defense Authorization Bill without granting money for RRW. This decision effectively defeated Representative Steve Pearce’s (R-NM) proposal to give $10 million for RRW, with a vote of 271 to 145. On May 7, the House Armed Services Committee deleted all funds for RRW from the 2009 Defense Authorization Bill.

The controversial RRW program was developed in 2004 by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), with the DOE originally intending to spend $725 million by 2012. The program was to develop new nuclear warheads to replace existing warheads in U.S. stockpiles. Proponents of the plan claim it would make stockpiles safer and reduce numbers of weapons, while critics claim it will open the door for nuclear testing and create another arms race. 

“Timeline of Reliable Replacement Warhead's Defeat in 2008,” Friends Committee on National Legislation, July 14, 2008. 

The US-India Deal Moving Forward

First the communists, now Pakistan, the IAEA and the NSG—can a trip to Iran secure the US-India Deal? 

On Monday, July 28, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee traveled to Tehran in an effort to secure India’s nuclear goals, including the US-India Deal. During his three-day trip, Mukherjee’s major meeting was with Iranian President Ahmadinejad. In exchange for Iranian support, Mukherjee reaffirmed India’s support of Iran’s nuclear energy program and plans for an Iranian-Indian-Pakistani gas pipeline (that the US opposes). 

Mukherjee’s visit comes just days before the IAEA meeting on August 1, where the Board will decide whether the US-India Deal’s safeguards are acceptable. The proposed safeguards aim to separate Indian civilian and military nuclear facilities, allowing the IAEA jurisdiction over the former. If the IAEA approves the safeguards agreement, the US-India Deal will then require the approval of the 45-state Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The US-India Deal would allow the US to trade nuclear fuel to India. US officials claim the deal would pull India closer to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) rules, even though it is not a signatory state. Critics claim the deal would promote regional instability and undermine the integrity of the NPT. Last month, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Karat threatened to call midterm elections if the deal was not abandoned. Despite this, Prime Minister Singh continued with the deal and won the confidence vote on July 22 with 275 votes for and 256 against his National Congress Party. This has fueled allegations that Singh’s party bribed key communist leaders.

Fresh complications now come from Pakistan, with Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi stating that “Pakistan should be eligible for the same facility [from the US].” President Bush then met with newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani on July 21 and announced plans to shift $226.5 million in counterterrorism aid to Pakistan towards upgrading Pakistani F16 fighter jets. While White House Press Secretary Dana Perino issued a statement saying that F16s remained in the counterterrorism category, military experts claim these jets cannot be used against militants, but will only affect the military parity between India and Pakistan. In any case, the US-India Deal has altered political relations and will continue to do so.

“Mukherjee in Tehran, to Seek Support of IAEA, NSG,” Newindpress, July 28, 2008. “Pakistan Wants India-Style Nuclear Deal with US,” Nation, July 25, 2008. “US Wants Counterterror Funds for Pakistan F-16s,” Reuters, July 24, 2008.

 

Middle East Free of WMDs?

More than 40 nations, including Israel and Arab states, agreed this past month to work for a zone free of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in the Middle East.

The final declaration from a summit launching the Union for the Mediterranean stated members would "pursue a mutually and effectively verifiable Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction."

This declaration includes chemical and biological weapons and their delivery systems. The countries also pledged to "consider practical steps to prevent the proliferation" of WMDs.

“43 Nations to Seek Middle East Free of WMDs," Associated Press, July 13, 2008.

State Department Report Reaffirms Global Expansion of Civil Nuclear Power

On April 7, 2008, the International Security Advisory Board issued its “Report on Proliferation Implications of the Global Expansion of Civil Nuclear Power” to the US State Department. 

The report, chaired by Ambassador C. Paul Robinson, proposes four ways for the US to combat the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation, without ending the spread of civil nuclear power. The main conclusions are that the US should engage the cooperation of nuclear energy suppliers on nonproliferation activities rather than the international community, and that the US should continue to pursue the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). 

The report begins by validating that nuclear proliferation increases in conjunction with civil nuclear power. After deciding that the US must not end the latter, but rather must mitigate the former, the report lists its four recommendations. 

Recommendation I is that the State Department should assist states trying to undertake new or additional nuclear energy plants.

Recommendation II is that the State Department work with supplier states to establish nonproliferation guidelines for recipient states, namely preventing them from enrichment and reprocessing capabilities. Failure to meet these guidelines should result in fuel and hardware cut-off, as well as diplomatic and economic responses. 

Recommendation III is that the US focuses on cooperation with nuclear energy suppliers as opposed to the “full panoply of international states.” 

Recommendation IV is that the US consider endorsing US fuel reprocessing options in order to reduce other states’ desires for reprocessing or enrichment technologies. The report supports the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) program, while addressing setbacks such as lack of Congressional funding.

By October, the United States plans to invite 25 new countries to join GNEP. GNEP has been severely criticized by arms control experts and the US Congress for being a nuclear proliferation threat.

European Power Plants Can’t Keep Nuclear Waste to Themselves

July was a rough month for nuclear energy, which has been called “eco-energy” or a “weapon of peace” by its most enthusiastic proponents. European facilities in France and Germany proved that nuclear power is neither, when leakages threatened their surrounding environments and disturbed the peace of neighboring towns.

The French spill occurred on July 8 at a reactor in Bollene when crew cleaning a tank used for storing liquids contaminated with uranium spilled 30,000 liters of the solution, releasing 360 kg of unenriched uranium into the ground and the Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers, both of which feed into the Rhone River. Initially, uranium levels in the two rivers were 1,000 times above normal, though they have been falling ever since.

France is the poster-child of the nuclear power movement, with 80% of its energy coming from 59 nuclear plants. An official from France’s nuclear safety agency, Charles-Antoine Louet, told the Associated Press that the “risk was slight,” and that the spilled solution, though toxic, was not radioactive. However, local authorities were less than convinced by Louet’s assurances and have temporarily banned residents from using well water, irrigating crops with river water, swimming, water sports and fishing.

German leaks of nuclear waste from the holding facility Asse II near Braunschweig actually occurred in 1988, but the information was not officially released until June 16, 2008. Explaining the two decade long silence, a spokesperson for the facility said, “We did not have the feeling that the public would be interested in knowing that radioactive brine is leaking in Asse II.”

Started in 1967, the facility is the oldest nuclear waste depository in Germany and was once a salt mine. The chemical responsible for Asse II’s problematic radioactivity rates, eight times above their limit, is Cesium 137, which is typically released during the detonation of nuclear weapons or from the nuclear fuel cycle. Caesium 137 is also known for its atmospheric release during the 1986 accident at Chernobyl. The current fear for Asse II, which has been sealed off, is that the radioactive brine will eventually corrode the mine’s rock shell and the 89,000 tons of radioactive waste will be released into the surrounding ground.

At a time when oil prices and concerns over global warming have made nuclear power fashionable in Europe, the two recent leaks question just how safe it is as an alternative energy source. Commenting on the French spill, and perhaps keeping his own country’s leaks in mind, German Deputy Environment Minister Michael Muller recently warned, “It’s not a trivial thing when radioactive uranium gets into the ground. When it comes to nuclear power plants, things always continue to happen that nobody had foreseen.”

Josh Ward, “Critics Worry as Authorities Ban Water Use,” Der Spiegel, July 9, 2008. Julio Godoy, “German Leaks Raise More Nuclear Fears,” Inter Press Service News Agency, July 30, 2008. “Warning Over French Uranium Leak,” BBC News, July 9, 2008.

Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security Now Available Online

Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security can now be fully accessed online at http://www.wmdreport.org/ndcs/online/. Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security? US Weapons of Terror, the Global Proliferation Crisis, and Paths to Peace (2007)is a non-governmental response to the June 2006 release of the final report of The Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Commission, Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms. Contributing authors are John Burroughs, Jacqueline Cabasso, Felicity Hill, Andrew Lichterman, Jennifer Nordstrom, Michael Spies and Peter Weiss; editors are Michael Spies and John Burroughs. The print version can also still be ordered ($12 plus shipping).

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Day Resource

www.nuclearfreefuture.org will list all events in the United States commemorating the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If you would like to upload information onto the site, contact Jackie Cabasso at wslf@earthlink.net.

Postcard Commemorating 63rd Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

These postcards were created to commemorate the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  They are addressed to Senator Byron Dorgan, Senator Barack Obama, Senator John McCain, and a new independent committee studying US nuclear weapons policy. They call for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, ending the pursuit of new warheads, halting continued weapons production, and for engaging with other nations to ensure that all existing stockpiles are verifiably dismantled. To use them, go to http://www.ananuclear.org/Portals/0/documents/august6postcardfinal.pdf.

Sadako Peace Day

The 14^th Annual Sadako Peace Day Ceremony, commemorating the 63^rd anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, will take place on August 6, 5:30-6:30 p.m. at La Casa de Maria, 800 El Bosque Road, Montecito, CA. UCSB Professor Tsuyoshi Hasegawa will speak on “The US Decision to Drop the Bomb: Paths Not Taken.” The program will also feature works from local poets, including Santa Barbara’s Poet Laureate Perie Longo, Carol DeCanio and Christine Kravetz. The event is free and open to the public.

Think Outside the Bomb

Join the Think Outside the Bomb network for four days of learning, sharing, and activism, August 14-17 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. The conference will provide a backdrop for nuclear abolitionists, peace activists, ecologists, and other advocates of social justice and a livable planet to learn in-depth about the threat of nuclear weapons, the destruction caused by the nuclear fuel chain and current political opportunities to move toward nuclear disarmament. To apply, visit http://thinkoutsidethebomb.org. Deadlines for applications are August 1 for those who need travel assistance and August 8 for those who do not.

US Leadership for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World

An Appeal to the Next President

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has launched an Appeal to the next President of the United States calling for US leadership for a nuclear weapons-free world. The Appeal will be delivered to the White House on January 20, 2009 when a new President is inaugurated. Sign the Appeal today!

Senator Barack Obama

“This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.”

-- Senator Barack Obama, Speech in Berlin, Germany on July 24, 2008

There are two things you need for nuclear deterrence, in my view, at a minimum. You need delivery platforms and you need weapons. And, I think we’ve done a pretty good job in the Department of Defense of sustaining the delivery platforms and modernizing the delivery platforms.

-- General Kevin Chilton, Commander, U.S. Strategic Command

It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.

-- Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman

Chloe Brown

David Krieger

Nick Roth

Vicki Stevenson

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Rick Wayman