OMNI
NUCLEAR WEAPONS ABOLITION NEWSLETTER #28
October 20, 2021.
ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
UN Treatyon the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology
(#25, April 2, 2021; #26, June 13, 2021; #27, July 2021)
Urge federal, state, and local legislators to sign the US version of ICAN pledge: www.NuclearBan.US/ICANpledge.
Urge legislators to co-sponsor NORTON HR 2850: www.nuclearban.us/join-the-campaign.
Contact our Senators.
Suggested reading: Disarming the Nuclear Argument by Tommon Wallis: www.DisarmingArguments.com
Short videos: “the world has spoken” www.youtube.com/watch?y--MiyTKluApRQ
And join OMNI's protests of UAF nuclear weapons research Let the public know Arkies know about the nuclear danger. Contact Abel Tomlinson. Watch for announcements. Dick
CONTENTS #28
OPPOSITION, 2017 TO 2021
Scarry’s Book, Thermonuclear Monarchy, 2014
Three Essays 2021
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
US DEFIES the Nuclear Abolition Treaty
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Essays from 2017 to 2021
Doomsday Clock
Nuclear Weapons Accidents
Abolish Nuclear Weapons or Game Them, 2017
Petition for Peace, 2018
TEXTS #28
Absolute Power New York Times review by Richard Rhodes
Rigor and Compassion American Reader interview by Sarah Gerard
Thermonuclear Monarchy
CHOOSING BETWEEN DEMOCRACY AND DOOM
By Elaine Scarry. Harvard UP, 2014.
Mullins Library JX1974.7 .S2177 2014
Publisher’s description
From one of our leading social thinkers, a compelling case for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
During his impeachment proceedings, Richard Nixon boasted, "I can go into my office and pick up the telephone and in twenty-five minutes seventy million people will be dead." Nixon was accurately describing not only his own power but also the power of every American president in the nuclear age.
Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon each contemplated using nuclear weapons—Eisenhower twice, Kennedy three times, Johnson once, Nixon four times. Whether later presidents, from Ford to Obama, considered using them we will learn only once their national security papers are released.
In this incisive, masterfully argued new book, award-winning social theorist Elaine Scarry demonstrates that the power of one leader to obliterate millions of people with a nuclear weapon—a possibility that remains very real even in the wake of the Cold War—deeply violates our constitutional rights, undermines the social contract, and is fundamentally at odds with the deliberative principles of democracy.
According to the Constitution, the decision to go to war requires rigorous testing by both Congress and the citizenry; when a leader can single-handedly decide to deploy a nuclear weapon, we live in a state of “thermonuclear monarchy,” not democracy.
The danger of nuclear weapons comes from potential accidents or acquisition by terrorists, hackers, or rogue countries. But the gravest danger comes from the mistaken idea that there exists some case compatible with legitimate governance. There can be no such case. Thermonuclear Monarchy shows the deformation of governance that occurs when a country gains nuclear weapons.
In bold and lucid prose, Thermonuclear Monarchy identifies the tools that will enable us to eliminate nuclear weapons and bring the decision for war back into the hands of Congress and the people. Only by doing so can we secure the safety of home populations, foreign populations, and the earth itself.
ENDORSEMENTS & REVIEWS
“Eloquent.” — Richard Rhodes, The New York Times
“The premise of this book is as relevant as it is horrifying, that the power to inflict great harm doesn’t belong to those that it supposedly protects. I congratulate Elaine Scarry on her intellectual courage and moral clarity and in proposing the only possible way out.” — Marcelo Gleiser, author of A Tear at the Edge of Creation
“A really remarkable work, ranging across ethics, law and politics to pose genuinely radical challenges to the confused and potentially lethal systems that pass for democracy in our world. A painfully timely intervention.” — Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge and former Archbishop of Canterbury
“Elaine Scarry offers a coruscating critique of current policies, arguing that they are antithetic to the spirit of the U.S. constitution, and indeed to basic democratic principles. This eloquent and scholarly book offers a compelling case for swifter progress toward their elimination.” — Martin Rees, astronomer royal of England
“Even someone unpersuaded by Elaine Scarry’s constitutional analysis cannot avoid being gripped by her stark depiction of how utterly incompatible our eighteenth-century constitutional structure and the social contract it embodies are with our twenty-first-century weapons of mass destruction, weapons that can annihilate tens of millions of human souls in the blink of an eye and at the whim of a single individual, consulting with no one. A sober and haunting meditation on this tension between our institutions and our capacities, Scarry’s book requires any thoughtful reader to revisit the basic postulates and the deepest human purposes of our system of government.” — Laurence H. Tribe, professor of constitutional law, Harvard Law School
“A few years ago General Lee Butler, former head of the U.S. Strategic Command, condemned the ‘faith in nuclear weapons’ to which his life had been wrongly dedicated and the ‘breathtaking audacity’ in maintaining them when ‘we should stand trembling in the face of our folly and united in our commitment to abolish its most deadly manifestations.’ In this fascinating study, Elaine Scarry adds rich historical, philosophical, literary, and legal depth to Butler’s grim warnings, with novel and provocative insights. That we have escaped disaster so far is a near miracle. Scarry’s remarkable contribution should inspire us to abolish this colossal folly.” — Noam Chomsky
“[U]rgent and lucid … [a] prolonged rallying cry of a book.” — Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
“Elaine Scarry is right: Americans live in a thermonuclear monarchy.” — Kennette Benedict, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
“Scarry’s assault on the reigning complacency about nuclear weapons rests on her belief in the capacity of an interpretation to reconfigure the world.” — Nathan Schneider, Chronicle of Higher Education
“Thermonuclear Monarchy is a work of deadly serious political science by an analyst dwelling on the constitutional implications of giving a democratically elected president sovereign-like autocracy.” — Nick Smith, Engineering & Technology (U.K.)
“Scarry’s book requires any thoughtful reader to revisit the basic postulates and the deepest human purposes of our system of government.” — Laurence H. Tribe, Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Nuclear Weapons Are a Local Issue: Open Letter from Local and State Officials to President Biden and Congress
On September 23, 2021, the Back from the Brink campaign released an Open Letter signed by over 300 local, county and state officials in 41 states. The letter, directed to President Biden and Congress, welcomes the entry-info-force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and “urge[s] bold action and U.S. leadership in the pursuit of global, verifiable nuclear disarmament and concrete policy steps to reduce and eliminate the severe danger nuclear weapons pose to each and every one of our constituents – and all of humanity.” The letter signers hope to influence the Biden administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, the document that sets U.S. nuclear policy. CLICK HERE to learn more about Back From the Brink. To find out who’s on board and how you can get involved, CLICK HERE. UFPJ, 10-19-21
US DEFIES the Nuclear Abolition Treaty
New U.S. Nuclear Weapons Delivery Platform Flies Under the Radar
The F-35A stealth fighter, one of three F35 variants, soon will be equipped to deliver nuclear weapons. In early October it was reported that “A pair of F-35s from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada released dummy nuclear bombs at a nearby test range this month, moving the advanced stealth fighter closer to carrying the world’s most powerful weapons into combat.” The F35A will be equipped with the refurbished B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb. The F-35 was designed to be a jack of all trades, created to execute multiple missions and replace multiple specialized aircraft, but it has been plagued by massive cost overruns and technical problems. Lockheed Martin is the main corporate beneficiary. Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies ask, ” Why Does Congress Fight Over Childcare But Not F-35s?” UFPJ (10-19-21)
Veterans to President Biden: Just Say No to Nuclear War!
To mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, September 26, Veterans For Peace published an Open Letter to President Biden. “As veterans who have fought in multiple U.S. wars,” they write, “we are concerned about the very real danger of a nuclear war that would kill millions of people and could possibly even destroy human civilization. Therefore we are asking to have input into the Nuclear Posture Review [NPR] that your administration has recently initiated.” The letter raises concerns about the lack of transparency around the NPR, and makes 10 specific recommendations, concluding, “It will be a real leap forward for transparency and for our democracy if representatives of peace and disarmament NGO's are given access to this critically important process.” UFPJ (10-19-21)
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Hawaii's 'ballistic missile' false alarm reveals technical and administrative flaws By Colin Wood
JANUARY 15, 2018 8:09 PM
Both the state's systems and processes are now under review.
Hawaii's recent false alert of a "ballistic missile threat" reveals administrative and technical shortcomings in the state's emergency alerting system, sources familiar with the technology told StateScoop.
An emergency alert of a "ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii" caused panic to many who received the notification for 38 minutes on Saturday before it was corrected as a test message sent by mistake. The Federal Communications Commission, which has jurisdiction over wireless alerts, released a statement on Sunday that the shortcomings that allowed the incident to occur will be remediated following an investigation.
The message sent read: "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
Hawaii's nuclear warning siren system did not sound on Saturday.
The scare came less than two weeks after President Donald Trump bragged on Twitter that his nuclear button was "bigger & more powerful" than the one on the desk of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea fired more than 23 missiles during 16 tests in 2017, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that the country claims can reach "anywhere in the world."
“The false emergency alert sent yesterday in Hawaii was absolutely unacceptable," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "It caused a wave of panic across the state. … Moreover, false alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies."
Based on preliminary review, Pai said the false alert was able to be sent because the state did not have "reasonable safeguards or process controls in place."
Online, some of those who received the alert shared stories of tearful goodbyes with family and friends, while others reported that they had embraced the moment — one woman said she uncorked a bottle of vintage wine she had been saving, while another man said he texted his ex-wife to tell her that he still loved her, although she reportedly did not respond.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige said he was “angry and disappointed” about the false alarm and vowed to ensure it would not happen again. Ige said the false alert was sent during a routine shift change, at which time certain systems, like the emergency alerting system, are tested.
An image shared on Twitter by Honolulu Civic Beat shows that the staff member who made the mistake confused two similar links in a menu. The link to send an actual alert was labeled "PACOM (CDW) - STATE ONLY," while the test link was similarly labeled "DRILL - PACOM (CDW) - STATE ONLY."
That a false message was allowed to be sent indicates both administrative and technical failures, said Francisco Sanchez, deputy emergency management coordinator for Harris County, Texas.
"The vendor that they used could provide a multi-step process so it's not just one person authorized to hit the send button," Sanchez said. "And then the administrative process of requiring multiple chains of command [should also be involved]."
Sanchez said it would be adequate to have three or four people involved in the process, including someone from incident command, "before someone is even thinking about pressing a button."
The FCC has not stated when the details of its investigation will be revealed, but Sanchez said he expects that information to become available within the next 30 days.
"It would be a lost opportunity if we don't take all the lessons learned from it. It's a reminder that there are both technical and administrative solutions that would minimize the chance for this to happen again," Sanchez said.
Sanchez is a member of one of the groups that has spent the last year petitioning the FCC to upgrade the national Wireless Emergency Alert system. Groups like the National Emergency Management Association and the United States Conference of Mayors sent the FCC a letter earlier this month asking for better accuracy and new features like the ability to send photos along with text and multiple language support. Days later, the FCC released a proposal that would upgrade the system with more accurate alerting.
Although the Hawaii incident was a false alert, Sanchez said, the fact that the alert did not reach everyone it was intended to reach is further evidence that upgrades to the system are greatly needed.http://statescoop.com/hawaiis-ballistic-missile-false-alarm-revealed-technical-and-administrative-flaws?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202018-01-17%20Smart%20Cities%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:13638%5D&utm_term=Smart%20Cities%20Dive
“Hawaii False Alarm Hints at the Thin Line Between Mishap and Nuclear War” Nuc Accidents
By Max Fisher, New York Times, posted January 14
This article draws lessons from the aftermath of the downing of the Korean Airlines flight in 1983.
Scientists: Nuclear war would mean worldwide famine death of billions”
Thursday Nov. 16th, 2017
John LaForge (Also published in NukeWatch Quarterly)
An enlarged copy of this Sept. 13, 1985 headline from the Mpls. “Star and Tribune” has been on my bulletin board for decades. Back then the scientists explained the consequences of a large-scale nuclear war between the former USSR and the United States. “…the primary mechanisms for human fatalities would likely not be from blast effects, not from thermal radiation burns, and not from ionizing radiation, but, rather, from mass starvation” the US National Academy of Sciences study said, resulting in nuclear winter and “the loss of one to four billion lives.”
Left out of those grim calculations was the effect of mass firestorms caused by nuclear weapons being detonated on urban areas. In her book Whole World on Fire (Cornell Univ. Press, 2004) Lynn Eden notes, “For more than 50 years, the US Government has seriously underestimated damage from nuclear attacks.” MORE http://m.duluthreader.com/articles/2017/11/15/11665_scientists_nuclear_war_would_mean_worldwide_famine
OCTOBER 27, 2017
Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Abolitionists While US Conducts Nuclear War Games
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for its successful effort to establish a global treaty that bans nuclear weapons. Peace, disarmament, and civil society groups around the world celebrated the announcement and congratulated ICAN for its landmark treaty accomplishment.
In a statement, ICAN called the prize “a tribute to the tireless efforts of many millions of campaigners and concerned citizens worldwide who, ever since the dawn of the atomic age, have loudly protested nuclear weapons, insisting that they can serve no legitimate purpose and must be forever banished from the face of our earth.” By employing grassroots organizing and ordinary citizen diplomacy, ICAN, with 468 partner organizations from 100 countries, has permanently stigmatized nuclear weapons and their possessor governments, and helped to achieve their eventual elimination.
The new treaty was concluded on July 7 when 122 United Nations states voted in favor of its adoption. Since Sept. 20, 53 individual heads-of-state have signed the treaty, the first step in a government’s process of ratification which is decided by individual national parliaments. It will enter in force 90 days after at least 50 countries have ratified it.
The United States, the most powerful opponent of the Ban, called the treaty negotiations “unrealistic” and led a boycott, even though the talks are among the explicit mandates or binding “Articles” of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, signed and ratified by the United States in 1970.
The Ban Treaty prohibits developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, possessing, stockpiling and deploying nuclear weapons, transferring or receiving them from others, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, allowing any stationing or deployment of nuclear weapons on national territories of signatories, and assisting, encouraging, or inducing any of these prohibited acts. The Treaty requires each signatory state to develop “legal, administrative and other measures, including the imposition of penal sanctions, to prevent and suppress” the prohibited activities.
US Fearmongering and Nuclear War Games Distract
Diverting attention from the Ban Treaty and the Nobel Committee’s abolitionist Peace Prize, the United States has for months been issuing wildly exaggerated warnings about threats posed by North Korea — which may have 20 nuclear warheads but no provably workable rockets for them — and Iran — which has no nuclear weapons at all.
At least the rest of the world is aware that US nuclear weapons are superfluous, conventional weapons being “deterrent” enough and sufficient for the Pentagon takeover of Afghanistan and Iraq. Nuclear weapons are worse than useless in today’s seven US “anti-terror” wars since they embody and teach, but never deter, terrorism. Case in point: Between October 16 – 20, the United States and four NATO partners conducted what they called their “Steadfast Noon” nuclear strike exercises. The annual war game is a NATO practice of nuclear weapons use with bombers and the B61 H-bombs the US deploys in Europe.
The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 16 that one NATO official said the war game involves a “fictional scenario.” The Journal noted that the US keeps about 150 B61 nuclear weapons at six bases in five European countries. The US nuclear weapons practice took place at Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium and Büchel Air Base in Germany, both of which host about 20 of the US B61s. Belgian and German pilots train to use these H-bombs in the event of a Presidential order to go nuclear, i.e., insane.
Joseph Trevithick reported for TheDrive online, “The bombs are technically ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons, though experts and advocates routinely debate the validity of this term and whether any nuclear weapon can be seen as a limited, tactical tool.” The B61 is an unguided gravity bomb that has an explosive force of 340 kilotons (27 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb that killed 170,000 people). The nonfiction use of just a single B61 could kill more than 3.7 million people, the vast majority “protected” (civilians).
The Peace Prize increases the stigmatization of nuclear weapons, NATO’s preparations for using them, and the nuclear-armed states’ self-contradictory rationalizations for retaining their arsenals. All three need to be universally publicized and appreciated before a malfunction, miscalculation or “moron” (as Secretary of State called President Trump) kills millions.
How We Move Away From Nuclear War: A PETITION FOR PEACE
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Contents Nuclear Weapons Abolition Newsletter #27, July 2021
RESISTANCE:the new UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons TPNW.
https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/07/omni-nuclear-weapons-abolition.html
Organizations
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolence v. Trident Subs
Nukewatch Quarterly
Fight for Civil Rights = Fight for World Peace
Nuclear Nations in Conflict: Kashmir
Biden Administration: Tell Biden No New Nukes
Behind the Biden Ad’s $100 Billion Missile System
Trump Dangers Continue
ENDNUCLEAR WEAPONS ABOLITION NEWSLETTER #28