[E-rundbrief] Info 1702 - Global Zero_No nuclear weapons
Matthias Reichl
info at begegnungszentrum.at
Di Jan 30 22:28:13 CET 2018
E-Rundbrief - Info 1702 - Bruce Blair, Global Zero (USA): The Doomsday
Clock is at 2 minutes to midnight... preventing the use of nuclear
weapons.
Bad Ischl, 30.1.2018
Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
www.begegnungszentrum.at
================================================
The Doomsday Clock is at 2 minutes to midnight. That’s the closest to
midnight it’s been since the height of the Cold War. This development
is a reminder that the top priority of the United States must be
preventing the use of nuclear weapons.
Unfortunately, the White House has chosen to go in a different
direction. A draft of the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture
Review, which lays out the administration’s vision for the future of
the U.S. nuclear force, leaked earlier this month. The plan calls for
expanding the role of nuclear weapons, the size of the U.S. nuclear
arsenal, and the situations that would trigger a nuclear response.
Trump’s wizards of Armageddon have uprooted a nuclear taboo, declaring
a newfound readiness to use nuclear weapons first and early in a
confrontation. In a departure from previous presidents, Trump expands
the circumstances in which nuclear weapons could be used to include as
a response to “significant non-nuclear strategic attacks,” such as
attacks on “civilian population or infrastructure.” The purported
reason is to deter adversaries, specifically Russia, by indicating
U.S. willingness to use nuclear weapons first and early.
To that end, the Trump administration calls for new, more usable
nuclear weapons. These weapons are a boondoggle: the review provides
no evidence that the new weapons are needed or that they will actually
work to deter Russia. The plan is needless due to the vast
conventional strength of the U.S. military, and ill-advised as it will
only increase the risk of stumbling into a nuclear war.
For all its misguided calls for increased reliance on nuclear weapons,
the document lacks any plan for funding. It reiterates support for
expanding the eye-popping $1.25 trillion nuclear upgrade program ($1.7
trillion when accounting for inflation) that the Obama administration
set in motion. The call for useless new weapons would add to that sum,
but you won’t find any ideas about how pay for it.
The White House is poised to officially release the Nuclear Posture
Review soon and it is important they not do so in a vacuum. Not only
will Global Zero push back against the notion that new, more usable
nuclear weapons are needed, we will offer up solutions to pull us back
from the brink and reduce nuclear risks globally. These steps – from
declaring that the U.S. will not use nuclear weapons first, to placing
checks on presidential launch authority, to prioritizing the safety
and security of our nuclear arsenal over unnecessary new weapons
programs – are pragmatic actions the U.S. can take that also
strengthen national security.
The Trump administration plans to meet an international landscape
fraught with tensions between nuclear powers with ill-conceived ideas
that lift up nuclear weapons as solutions to our problems. With your
support, Global Zero will expose this for what it is and advocate for
alternatives that make us safe, secure, and closer to a world without
the threat of nuclear weapons.
With gratitude,
Bruce Blair
Co-Founder, Global Zero
Global Zero is the international movement for the elimination of all
nuclear weapons.
Sent by GLOBAL ZERO | 1342 Florida Avenue NW | Washington, DC 20009
USA , www.globalzero.org
--
Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
Wolfgangerstr. 26, 4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
Impressum in: http://www.begegnungszentrum.at
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