OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #194,
SEPTEMBER 11, 2024. Compiled by Dick
Bennett
ABOLISH NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Art Hobson. Nuclear Weapons and the Treaty
on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
ICAN
UN International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A
Scenario, Book Club by Back from the Brink.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS RESISTANCE ORGANIZATIONS
Art Hobson. “Nuclear
War Spells Doom for Civilization:
We Can Rid the Planet of this Scourge.”
NWADG 3 September 2024.
This article was originally published in
the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette and is published here with their
permission.
This article was originally published in the Northwest Arkansas
Democrat Gazette and is published here with their permission.
. .
.[Nuclear] weapons are an atrocity. To understand
their power, consider a single U.S. Trident submarine. It carries 16 intercontinental ballistic
missiles. Each missile has a range of
5,000 miles and carries a dozen H-bombs, each of them 15 times larger than the
Hiroshima bomb. One such submarine could
in principle destroy 192 cities.
We have 18 such submarines.
Most of them would go underwater and be invulnerable at any hint of
nuclear war.
But that's not all:
We also have a strategic force of 60 nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2
bombers. If nuclear war looms, these
airplanes would be continually in the air and nearly invulnerable.
But that's still not all.
We also have 440 Minuteman missiles in buried "silos" in the
northern Midwest. Russia has similar
missiles. These make both sides much
less safe, since their locations are known, and they can be targeted in a
surprise first strike. This gives both
sides an incentive to strike first whenever nuclear war seems imminent.
But this "triad" of destruction is still
not all. The U.S. also has
"tactical" (smaller than the Hiroshima bomb) nuclear weapons stored
in Germany where they could strike Moscow within a few minutes.
There are nine nuclear weapons nations today. The U.S. and Russia possess most of nuclear
weapons, but China is catching up fast.
These arsenals represent an atrocious
"overkill"capacity, because all sides could "deter"
any thought of a surprise nuclear attack with a far smaller force. In fact, all that a superpower (U.S., Russia,
and soon China) needs to deter an attack by any other power is 3 or 4
Trident-type submarines. The bombers and
land-based missiles are superfluous overkill that reduce our security.
Despite this plethora of nuclear weapons, there is
hope. Many level-headed strategic
experts and international organizations argue for a world free of nuclear
weapons. For example, U.S. elder
statesmen such as Senator Sam Nunn (former chair of the Senate Armed Services
Committee), William Perry (Secretary of Defense under Clinton), Henry Kissinger
(Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford), and George Shultz (Secretary of
State under Reagan) have advocated this.
More importantly, in 2017 the United Nations passed
(with 113 nations in favor, 35 against, and 14 abstentions) the Treaty on
the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Nations ratifying the Treaty agree not to
develop, possess, or use nuclear weapons.
Today, 97 nations--50% of all nations--have signed and/or ratified the
TPNW. The holdouts include the 9 nuclear
nations and the 32 NATO nations.
The world faces two long-standing existential threats to
civilization. One of them, global
warming, requires an international effort extending over many decades. The other threat is even more dangerous but
far simpler to solve: global nuclear
war. It can be solved if all people will
push their governments tojoin the TPNW. The most important governments are the
nuclear weapons powers, led by the United States. This result is feasible. People must take the nuclear weapons threat
far more seriously, especially today in places like Ukraine and Gaza where
nuclear war could easily begin.
Please speak up against this atrocity to civilization.
The next two entries describe past events, but they contain
still important information.
ICAN
UN International Campaign to Abolish
Nuclear Weapons
Dear Dick, 8-29-24
Today August 29 is the UNInternational Day against Nuclear Tests
and I am proud to be writing to you from Astana, Kazakhstan, where ICAN is
taking part in a series of powerful meetings about nuclear
disarmament and nuclear justice to mark this day. We are joined by several governments, UN and Red Cross
representatives, members from affected communities and civil society -
including many of our partners - all working together for a world that is not
just free from nuclear tests but free of nuclear weapons altogether.
The 29th of August was
chosen because it is the anniversary of the first ever Soviet nuclear test
carried out at Semipalatinsk in 1949 and the day this test site was finally
closed in 1991. It is also the day that, in 2019, Kazakhstan ratified the
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
It is particularly
poignant to be here in Kazakhstan, which is not only the location of
devastating nuclear tests, but also the place where the world witnessed
remarkable activism to end testing here and everywhere. . . .
Back from the Brink. Annie Jacobsen. Nuclear War: A Scenario, Book
Club. Aug 5, 2024.
Dialogue and education are critical to preventing nuclear war and shaping
policies that will reduce nuclear risks. Do you have civic-minded friends,
family members, or co-workers who like to read, learn, and discuss?
This August and September, Back from the Brink (BftB) and Dutton
Publishing invite individuals and communities to come together and take part
in a national reading and community-based dialogue about Annie Jacobsen’s book, Nuclear
War: A Scenario, U.S. nuclear weapons and
policies, and ways to make a difference.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Published in March 2024, Nuclear War: A Scenario by
investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen, is a harrowing, non-fiction account
that examines the origins of U.S. nuclear war fighting strategy and one
plausible scenario and timeline for how a catastrophic nuclear war could unfold
based on current policies.
Based on interviews with scores of experts and former military and
nuclear planning officials, the New York Times bestselling book offers
an opportunity for civic-minded, concerned individuals to read and learn more
and engage in important, non-partisan dialogue about U.S. nuclear weapons and
policies.
HOW THE BOOK CLUB WILL WORK
Contact Sean Meyer at sean@preventnuclearwar.org.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
RESISTANCE ORGANIZATIONS
·
Arms
Control Association (1971)
·
ATOM Project(2012)
·
Back from the Brink (2017)
·
Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament (1957)
·
Council
for a Livable World (1962)
·
Code
Pink (2002)
· Economists for Peace and Security
·
FCNL (1943)
·
Global
Zero (2008)
·
Ground
Zero Center (1977)
·
International Campaign to
Abolish Nuclear Weapons(ICAN),
Nobel Peace Prize (2007).
·
International Network of
Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (1991)
·
International Physicians
for the Prevention of Nuclear War(1980)
·
Nuclear Free World Policy
(1998)
·
Nevada Desert Experience
(1984)
·
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
(1982)
·
The
Nuclear Resister (1980)
·
H.R.2850 - Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic
and Energy Conversion Act of 2021,117th
Congress (2021-2022)
·
Nukewatch
(1978)
·
OMNI Center for Peace,
Justice, and Ecology (2001) .
·
OPANAL
(1967)
·
Parliamentarians for
Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, (2012)
·
Pax Christi International, (1945)
·
Peace Action
(1957)
·
Performers and Artists for Nuclear
Disarmament
·
Physicians for Social Responsibility (1961)
·
Plowshares Movement (1980)
·
Scientists against Nuclear Arms
(1981)
·
Ploughshares Fund
(1981)
·
Pugwash Conferences on
Science and World Affairs (1957)
·
The Ribbon International (1983)
·
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
(1998)
·
WAND Women’s
Action for a New Direction (1982)
·
Win Without War (2002)
·
World Beyond War
·
World Disarmament Campaign
(1967) --Dick
·
My summary of Chomsky’s analysis of US/Russia history on Democracy
Now: After the Eastern European Wall
was torn down, NATO’s defensive purpose vanished utterly, and NATO became an
interventionist instrument of the US and West, despite US promise not to expand
eastward. Gorbachev offered a
nuclear free zone from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, but he was snubbed
by the West. Now NATO continues to
threaten Russia, while the West demonizes its leader Putin. –D
September 11, 2001. Attack
mainly by Saudi Arabian terrorists kills 2,800, destroying in NYC the World
Trade Center and in DC a section of the Pentagon.
September 11, 1973. US. Backs overthrow
of the democratically elected government of Salvador Ellende in Chile. WRL Peace Calendar.
END OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS, #194,
SEPTEMBER 11, 2024.