NUCLEAR AGE PEACE FOUNDATION

For Immediate Release

Contact: Sandy Jones  (805) 965-3443; sjones@napf.org

Rick Wayman  (805) 696-5159; rwayman@napf.org

 

Santa Barbara, CA – An unarmed Minuteman III ICBM missile test is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Wednesday morning, October 2, between 1:13 and 7:13 a.m. Ironically, the test will fall on the anniversary of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the great non-violent Indian peace activist.

Rick Wayman, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), a Santa Barbara based non-profit dedicated to the abolition of nuclear weapons commented, “Last week, thirteen countries deepened their formal ties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This week, the U.S. will test yet another nuclear missile. More than an ‘operational test’ it reminds us that the world as we know it can be wiped out in an instant.”

Air Force Global Strike Command representatives assert that missile tests are scheduled months or years in advance and are not connected to current geopolitical events. However, David Krieger, President of NAPF, points out that the very act of testing has important ramifications.

Krieger states, “Missile tests such as this one have the effect of normalizing the prospect of nuclear annihilation. Citizens need to look more deeply at the threat nuclear weapons pose to the planet and all its inhabitants. Each of these missile tests provides us evidence of the extent to which our political and military leaders are failing us by making missile testing routine rather than engaging in the necessary effort to abolish nuclear weapons.” Krieger added, “Future generations will not look kindly on this normalization of the means for universal death.”

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If you would like to interview David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, or Rick Wayman, Deputy Director of the Foundation, please call (805) 965-3443 or (805) 696-5159. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s mission is to educate, advocate and inspire action for a just and peaceful world, free of nuclear weapons. Founded in 1982, the Foundation is comprised of individuals and organizations worldwide who realize the imperative for peace in the Nuclear Age. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with consultative status to the United Nations. For more information, visit wagingpeace.org.