North Korea Says It Is Bolstering Its Nuclear Arsenal

North Korea Says It Is Bolstering Its Nuclear Arsenal North Korea has announced that it is improving the quality and quantity of its nuclear arsenal in response to the "reckless hostile policy" of the United States and its allies. North Korea has also announced plans to launch a satellite into orbit for scientific purposes. Many opponents of the North Korean regime view such satellite launches as a thinly-veiled attempt to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Choe Sang-Hun, "North Korea Says It Is Bolstering Its Nuclear Arsenal," The New York Times, September 15, 2015. shared from Issue #219 - October 2015

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Perspectives Reason Is Not Enough by David Krieger Will the Nuclear Powers Also Play by the Rules? by Lawrence Wittner The UN: Are Development and Peace Empty Words? by Rebecca Johnson and Ray Acheson Nuclear Disarmament Pope Francis Speaks Out for Nuclear Disarmament Anti-Nuclear Parliamentarian Elected as Leader of UK Labour Party Nuclear Proliferation U.S. and Iranian Presidents Speak About Nuclear Agreement at UN North Korea Says It Is Bolstering Its Nuclear Arsenal Peace Japanese Government Reinterprets Peace Article in Constitution Nuclear Modernization Russia Threatens Countermeasures if U.S. Deploys Modernized Nuclear Bomb in Germany U.S. Uranium Processing Facility Likely to Cost Over $10 Billion Nuclear Zero Lawsuits Tony de Brum and People of the Marshall Islands Win the Right Livelihood Award Scottish Parliament Debates the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits Amicus Letters of Support to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Resources October's Featured Blog This Month in Nuclear Threat History Toxic Remnants of War Network I Was Her Age Foundation Activities Peace Poetry Contest Winners Announced Evening for Peace Honoring Setsuko Thurlow Peace Leadership in Europe Quotes Perspectives Reason Is Not Enough by David Krieger Reason is not enough to halt the nuclear juggernaut that rumbles unsteadily toward catastrophe, toward omnicide. The broken heart of humanity must find a way to enter the debate. The heart must find common cause with imagination. We cannot wait until the missiles are in the air with the sand falling through the hourglass. We must use our imaginations. We must listen to the sad stories of those who survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki and imagine the force of the winds, the firestorms rushing through our cities, the mushroom clouds rising, the invisible radiation spreading. If we can’t imagine the death and destruction, we cannot combat it and we will never stop it. To read more, click here. Will the Nuclear Powers Also Play by the Rules? by Lawrence Wittner When all is said and done, what the recently-approved Iran nuclear agreement is all about is ensuring that Iran honors its commitment under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) not to develop nuclear weapons. But the NPT—which was ratified in 1968 and which went into force in 1970—has two kinds of provisions. The first is that non-nuclear powers forswear developing a nuclear weapons capability. The second is that nuclear-armed nations divest themselves of their own nuclear weapons. Article VI of the treaty is quite explicit on this second point, stating: “Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.” What has been the record of the nuclear powers when it comes to compliance with the NPT? To read more, click here. The UN: Are Development and Peace Empty Words? by Rebecca Johnson and Ray Acheson Relentless militarism, underpinned by patriarchal capitalist structures and institutions, are at the root of today's major security crises, from nuclear threats to the millions of refugees fleeing armed gangs and Syria's bombed-out cities. As the UN General Assembly convenes in New York, governments need to take more responsibility for tackling the weapons, arms trade and conflicts that their policies have created and exacerbated. The 2030 Agenda commits governments “to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence.” It declares: “There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.” Yet despite this emphasis on peace and freedom from violence, the Agenda only includes one goal related to weapons - to significantly reduce illicit arms flows by 2030 (goal 16.4). To read more, click here. Nuclear Disarmament Pope Francis Speaks Out for Nuclear Disarmament Pope Francis spoke out strongly in favor of peace and nuclear disarmament during his speech to the United Nations on September 25. In his highly-anticipated remarks, Pope Francis said, "There is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, in full application of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons." He also spoke about the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1. He said, "The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy. I express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all the parties involved." "Video: Pope Francis Speaks at the UN on Nuclear Weapons," Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, September 25, 2015. Anti-Nuclear Parliamentarian Elected as Leader of UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, a long-time member of the UK Parliament, was elected as leader of the Labour Party in September 2015. Corbyn has a distinguished history of working for the global abolition of nuclear weapons, primarily with the UK-based Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Speaking recently at the Labour Party Conference, Corbyn said, "I don’t believe £100 billion on a new generation of nuclear weapons taking up a quarter of our defense budget is the right way forward. I believe Britain should honor our obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and lead in making progress on international nuclear disarmament." Speaking to the BBC, Corbyn said, "I am opposed to the use of nuclear weapons. I am opposed to the holding of nuclear weapons. I want to see a nuclear-free world. I believe it is possible." "Speech by Jeremy Corbyn to Labour Party Annual Conference 2015," Labour Press, September 29, 2015. Nuclear Proliferation U.S. and Iranian Presidents Speak About Nuclear Agreement at UN U.S. President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani both spoke about the recent nuclear agreement in their remarks to the United Nations General Assembly on September 28. President Obama said, "For two years, the United States and our partners – including Russia, including China – stuck together in complex negotiations. The result is a lasting, comprehensive deal.... And if this deal is fully implemented, the prohibition on nuclear weapons is strengthened, a potential war is averted, our world is safer. That is the strength of the international system when it works the way it should." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, "Today, a new chapter has started in Iran's relations with the world. From the standpoint of international law, this instrument [the nuclear agreement] sets a strong precedent where, for the first time, two sides rather than negotiating peace after war, engaged in dialogue and understanding before the eruption of conflict." Click the links to read the full remarks of President Obama and President Rouhani. North Korea Says It Is Bolstering Its Nuclear Arsenal North Korea has announced that it is improving the quality and quantity of its nuclear arsenal in response to the "reckless hostile policy" of the United States and its allies. North Korea has also announced plans to launch a satellite into orbit for scientific purposes. Many opponents of the North Korean regime view such satellite launches as a thinly-veiled attempt to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Choe Sang-Hun, "North Korea Says It Is Bolstering Its Nuclear Arsenal," The New York Times, September 15, 2015. Peace Japanese Government Reinterprets Peace Article in Constitution Despite significant protest both in Japan and abroad, the Japanese legislature voted to reinterpret Article 9 of the constitution, which declares that the Japanese people "forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation." The Article also pledges that "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained" and that "the right of belligerency will not be recognized." The reinterpretation of Article 9 will allow for "collective self-defense" in conjunction with allied nations. Gensuikyo, the Japan Council Against A and H Bombs, has vociferously opposed the reinterpretation of Article 9. After the recent vote by the legislature, Gensuikyo said in a statement, "We are firmly determined to do our utmost to get the war laws repealed." Matt Ford, "Japan Curtails Its Pacifist Stance," The Atlantic, September 19, 2015. Nuclear Modernization Russia Threatens Countermeasures if U.S. Deploys Modernized Nuclear Bomb in Germany Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said that Russia will be forced to take countermeasures if the United States deploys the modernized B61-12 nuclear bomb in Germany. According to recent German news reports, such deployment of U.S. nuclear bombs could take place as soon as the end of 2015. Peskov stated, "This could alter the balance of power in Europe. And without doubt it would demand that Russia take necessary counter measures to restore the strategic balance and parity." The United States already deploys approximately 180 nuclear bombs in five NATO countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. Masha Tsvetkova and Katya Golubkova, "Russia Pledges Counter Measures if U.S. Upgrades Nuclear Arms in Germany," Reuters, September 23, 2015. U.S. Uranium Processing Facility Likely to Cost Over $10 Billion The Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA), a watchdog group located near the Y-12 nuclear facility in Tennessee, has estimated that the planned Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) will cost at least $10 billion, despite government promises that it will not exceed $6.5 billion. The Uranium Processing Facility has been plagued by mismanagement, runaway cost projections, and schedules that recede toward infinity. It continues, year after year, to be listed on the Government Accountability Office’s “High Risk Projects” list. Despite the problems, the UPF continues to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in the federal budget. The proposed UPF would produce new secondaries for thermonuclear weapons, which greatly increase the explosive yield of nuclear weapons. "Oak Ridge Bomb Plant Cost Soaring Toward $10 Billion," Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, September 8, 2015. Nuclear Zero Lawsuits Tony de Brum and People of the Marshall Islands Win the Right Livelihood Award Foreign Minister Tony de Brum and the people of the Marshall Islands will receive the 2015 Right Livelihood Award "in recognition of their vision and courage to take legal action against the nuclear powers for failing to honor their disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty." De Brum is co-agent of the Marshall Islands in the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits against the world's nine nuclear-armed nations at the International Court of Justice. The Marshall Islands also filed a lawsuit against the United States in U.S. Federal Court. De Brum is also a leading voice in international climate negotiations, and will play an important role at the upcoming climate summit in Paris in December. Commenting on the award, NAPF President David Krieger said, "Tony de Brum is one of the truly outstanding political leaders of our time. He is relentless in his pursuit of peace and justice. He and the people of the Marshall Islands have played an oversized role in the fight to end the nuclear weapons era – by going to court to hold the nuclear-armed countries to their nuclear disarmament obligations under international law.  They have also played a major role in the fight to halt climate change. Minister de Brum and the people of the Marshall Islands are most worthy of the Right Livelihood Award and of the recognition being bestowed upon them." "Foreign Minister Tony de Brum and the People of the Marshall Islands Receive Right Livelihood Award," Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, October 1, 2015. Scottish Parliament Debates the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits On September 23, the Scottish Parliament held a debate about the Marshall Islands' Nuclear Zero Lawsuits against the world's nine nuclear-armed nations. The debate, initiated by Bill Kidd, a member of Scottish Parliament and Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, included contributions from members of numerous political parties. Summing up the debate, Keith Brown, the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, said, "Although the case that the Republic of the Marshall Islands is bringing against the UK Government is a matter for the International Court of Justice, the Scottish Government can certainly sympathize with the Marshall Islands on the issue of nuclear weapons. Our history of nuclear weapons is of course different from that of the Marshall Islanders, as we have heard, but we share a common belief that there should be no place for nuclear weapons in our world today, and that there is an obligation on each and every nation to do all that it can to realize that vision." "Scottish Parliament Debates Nuclear Zero Lawsuits," Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, September 23, 2015. Amicus Letters of Support to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Two amicus letters of support have been submitted to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Marshall Islands' position in their Nuclear Zero Lawsuit against the United States. Three Nobel Peace Laureates - Mairead Maguire, Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi - submitted a letter, along with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a UK-based organization. The letters of support, along with all of the documents related to the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits, can be accessed athttp://nuclearzero.org/in-the-courts. Resources October's Featured Blog This month's featured blog is from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the United Kingdom. CND General Secretary Kate Hudson writes on issues of nuclear disarmament, peace and justice. Recent titles on the blog include, "Jeremy Corbyn and the Future of Trident," and "Why the Atom Bomb was Dropped on Japan." To read the blog, click here. This Month in Nuclear Threat History History chronicles many instances when humans have been threatened by nuclear weapons. In this article, Jeffrey Mason outlines some of the most serious threats that have taken place in the month of October, including the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which nearly led to nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. To read Mason's full article, click here. For more information on the history of the Nuclear Age, visit NAPF's Nuclear Files website. Toxic Remnants of War Network The Toxic Remnants of War Network is a new civil society network working to reduce the humanitarian and environmental impact of pollution from conflict and military activities. The network connects NGOs, countries, institutions and independent experts engaged in work on the environment, humanitarian disarmament, public health and human rights. To learn more about this new network, click here. I Was Her Age A new documentary by British filmmaker Emma Baggott follows a delegation of eight Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors who accompanied youth on a journey around the world to share the horrors of nuclear weapons and appeal for their prohibition and eradication. Created in collaboration with Peace Boat and Mayors for Peace, this film is freely available for educational use by citizens around the world. To view the 33-minute film, click here. Foundation Activities Peace Poetry Contest Winners Announced The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has announced the winners of the 2015 Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards. A panel of poets read through the many hundreds of submissions to declare winners in three age categories: Adult, Youth (13-18) and Youth (12 and under). To read this year's winning poems, click here. For more information about the 2016 poetry contest, click here. Evening for Peace Honoring Setsuko Thurlow The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's Annual Evening for Peace will take place on October 25, 2015 in Santa Barbara, California. The Foundation will present its Distinguished Peace Leadership Award to Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and an outspoken advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons. She is the recipient of the Order of Canada Medal, the highest honor for Canadian civilians, and is a Hiroshima Peace Ambassador. She is also a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Click here for more information about the Evening for Peace, including sponsorship opportunities, ticket information and details about this year's honoree. Peace Leadership in Europe From a conference of international scholars to a group of international nine and ten year-olds, the work of the NAPF Peace Leadership Program moves into an ever-expanding world. NAPF Peace Leadership Director Paul K. Chappell gave the keynote address at the 2015 CMM Learning Exchange at the University of the Armed Forces in Munich, Germany. Paul Chappell shared from his CMM project: Literacy in the Art of Living, the Art of Listening, and the Art of Waging Peace. “To survive as a species in the twenty-first century and beyond, we must promote literacy in these often neglected arts. We must also promote literacy in our shared humanity. This is how we will evolve as a civilization, or we will perish. That is our only choice.” Following the conference, Paul Chappell spent September 21, the International Day of Peace, speaking at United World College in Maastricht, in the Netherlands, an international school with more than 800 students from ages 2 to 18. To read more about Paul's recent trip to Europe, click here. Quotes "There can be no safe hands for nuclear weapons. The humanitarian consequences of a possible detonation of a nuclear weapon, whether intentionally or accidentally, will be catastrophic for humanity." -- Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, speaking on the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly. "Spending on nuclear weapons squanders the wealth of nations. To prioritize such spending is a mistake and a misallocation of resources which would be far better invested in the areas of integral human development, education, health and the fight against extreme poverty. When these resources are squandered, the poor and the weak living on the margins of society pay the price." -- Pope Francis "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see your shadow. It's what sunflowers do." -- Helen Keller. This quote appears in Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, available for purchase in theNAPF Peace Store. Editorial Team Alex Hale David Krieger Carol Warner Rick Wayman

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

NUCLEAR AGE PEACE FOUNDATION

Issue #215 - June 2015

Click here or on the image above to follow NAPF President David Krieger on Twitter.

• Perspectives
  • Grand Bargain Is Not So Grand by David Krieger
  • Exclusive Interview with General Lee Butler by Robert Kazel
  • Uprising by Ray Acheson
• Nuclear Zero Lawsuits
  • The Marshall Islands and the NPT
  • What the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits Seek to Accomplish
• Nuclear Insanity
  • MOX Gets Golden Hammer Award for Egregious Waste
  • UK Whistleblower on Trident Submarine Dangers
• U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
  • U.S. Conducts Minuteman Missile Test During NPT Review Conference
• Peace
  
  • Women Cross Border Between North and South Korea
  • Transform Now Plowshares Activists Released from Prison
• Nuclear Waste
  
  • Las Vegas Mayor Opposes Nuclear Waste Shipments
• Resources
  • June's Featured Blog
  • This Month in Nuclear Threat History
  • The Growing U.S. Nuclear Threat
• Foundation Activities
  • Peace Poetry Awards: Deadline July 1
  • Paul Chappell Selected as CMM Institute Fellow
  • Save the Date: Sadako Peace Day is August 6
• Quotes

Perspectives

Grand Bargain Is Not So Grand

by David Krieger

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has two major purposes and together they form a grand bargain. First, the treaty seeks to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons to other countries.  Second, the treaty seeks to level the playing field by the pursuit of negotiations in good faith to end the nuclear arms race at an early date and to achieve nuclear disarmament. The goal of the grand bargain, in other words, is a world without nuclear weapons.
It is the disarmament side of the grand bargain, though, where things really break down. The five nuclear-armed countries that are parties to the NPT (US, Russia, UK, France and China) appear more comfortable working together to maintain and modernize their nuclear arsenals than they do to fulfilling their disarmament obligations under the treaty. Their common strategy appears to be “nuclear weapons forever.”
To read more, click here.

Exclusive Interview With General Lee Butler

by Robert Kazel

Today, General Lee Butler is 75, and he has never stopped believing nuclear arms to be an enormous danger and outrageously immoral. They permit imperfect leaders to play God, he says, and make it all too easy for the planet to be ruined for all future generations in a span of hours. He’s incredulous that scores of U.S. missiles are still kept on hair-trigger alert, poised to be launched in minutes. And he is more disillusioned than ever that defense strategists and politicians keep defending nuclear deterrence: a theory born in the 1950s that asserts nations can prevent nuclear war by keeping nuclear weapons ready for use in retaliation. Butler believed that once, fervently. But he now says deterrence probably never made much sense, and certainly is unbelievable in a world of unstable, unpredictable regional nuclear actors and terrorists who seek to actually use weapons of vast, destructive power.
Now Butler has penned his life story, a project he painstakingly worked on for many years after he and his wife, Dorene, left Omaha and moved to a gated community in Laguna Beach, Calif., in 2001. The self-published memoir, which he expects to be out this summer, recounts his boyhood in Georgia as part of an Army family and his 33-year military career starting with his graduation from the Air Force Academy in 1961. It explains in depth why he ultimately called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons, and discusses his disillusionment with government officials who, he says, have allowed shortsightedness, petty politics and bellicosity to obstruct the road to world nuclear disarmament.
In a wide-ranging interview at his house recently, Butler spoke with NAPF about the perils of nuclear weapons that arose during and just after the Cold War, and why the dangers continue. The following is an edited version of the conversation.
To read more, click here.

Uprising

by Ray Acheson

A certain restiveness could be felt Friday evening at the United Nations at the close of the 2015 NPT Review Conference. The draft outcome document was not adopted, though it was not this fact that seemed to bother most. The content of the final draft was unacceptably weak on disarmament, as the majority of those taking the floor lamented in their closing remarks, and the process to develop it was extremely problematic. The discontent was rather about why it had been rejected. Three states parties blocked its adoption on behalf of Israel, a non-state party possessing nuclear weapons. If the month-long review of the Treaty’s implementation and attempts to develop actions for moving forward had not already sufficiently underscored the depth of the Treaty’s discriminatory orientation privileging nuclear-armed states, the Conference’s conclusion certainly did.
But the Conference has ended, leaving interested states now with the chance to pursue effective measures for nuclear disarmament. Instead of a text that moves backwards in some areas from previous commitments and threatened to stall progress for another five years, states parties can continue to rely on the outcomes from 1995, 2000, and 2010 to guide their actions in terms of Treaty implementation. And in the meantime, there is also space for what theWashington Post describes as “an uprising” of 107 states and civil society groups. These states are “seeking to reframe the disarmament debate as an urgent matter of safety, morality and humanitarian law,” and have pledged to fill the gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons.
To read more, click here.

Nuclear Zero Lawsuits

The Marshall Islands and the NPT

In a recent article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Robert Alvarez writes about the history and impact of U.S. nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands. He also explores the importance of the Marshall Islands' Nuclear Zero Lawsuits for upholding the disarmament promises of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and the momentum of the effort to highlight the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.
Alvarez writes, "The humanitarian initiative and the Marshall Islands lawsuits have received a chilly, some might say hostile reception from the nuclear weapons states, for an understandable reason: The nuclear weapons countries are engaged in costly modernization efforts that all but guarantee the continued existence of nuclear weapons for decades, and perhaps beyond. The Marshall's lawsuits and the humanitarian initiative both seek to make the nuclear states seriously negotiate toward nuclear disarmament."
Robert Alvarez, "The Marshall Islands and the NPT," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 27, 2015.

What the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits Seek to Accomplish

by David Krieger

These are important lawsuits.  They have been described as a battle of David versus the nine nuclear Goliaths.  In this case, however, David (the RMI) is using the nonviolent means of the courtroom and the law rather than a slingshot and a rock.  It is worth considering what these lawsuits seek to accomplish.

• To challenge the “good faith” of the nuclear-armed countries, for their failure to initiate negotiations for nuclear disarmament as required by the NPT and customary international law.
• To awaken people everywhere to the magnitude of the threat posed by nuclear weapons.
• To achieve a “conversion of hearts,” recognized by Pope Francis as necessary for effective action in changing the world on this most challenging of threats.

These are high aspirations from a small but courageous country.  If you would like to know more about the Marshall Islands Nuclear Zero lawsuits, and how you can help support them, visit www.nuclearzero.org.
David Krieger, "What the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits Seek to Accomplish," Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, May 6, 2015.

Nuclear Insanity

MOX Gets Golden Hammer Award for Egregious Waste

The Washington Times has awarded its Golden Hammer Award to South Carolina's Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel facility. The MOX program, which is intended to convert 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for nuclear power plants, is viewed by many as an egregious example of government waste.
In 2004, the project was expected to cost $1.6 billion, with a completion date of 2007. Now, in 2015, over $4 billion has been spent on the project, which is only 67% completed. Congress appears likely to provide $345 million in funding for MOX in Fiscal Year 2016. At this rate, studies have shown that the lifecycle costs for MOX will reach $114 billion. The MOX plant also lost its only potential customer for the fuel, Duke Energy. No other nuclear utility has been willing to take the risk of using MOX fuel in nuclear reactors.
Kellan Howell, "Congress Keeps Funding Overbudget Plutonium Site with No Real Customers," Washington Times, May 7, 2015.

UK Whistleblower on Trident Submarine Dangers

The safety and security of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class nuclear submarines, each carrying more than a dozen Trident nuclear missiles, was called into question when William McNeilly claimed that Britain’s nuclear weapons system was an “accident waiting to happen.” The damning 18-page report includes accusations of lax security, fire hazards, and poor quality food among other things.

The Royal Navy has firmly dismissed these allegations, while some defense experts admitted that there could be elements of truth in some of McNeilly’s claims. Historically, the Ministry of Defense has downplayed incidents involving its submarines, stating that the “technical complexity of running a nuclear submarine is vast.”

Jamie Merrill, “Trident Whistleblower William McNeilly Transferred to Portsmouth Naval Base as Royal Navy Disputes his Claims About the ‘Silent Service,’" The Independent, May 22, 2015.

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy

U.S. Conducts Minuteman Missile Test During NPT Review Conference

Three days before the end of the 2015 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, the U.S. conducted a test of a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. The Minuteman III is the United States' land-based missile that is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the other side of the planet in around 30 minutes.
The test went against the call of dozens of nations at the NPT Review Conference for the U.S. and other nuclear-armed nations to take their nuclear weapons off high-alert status and to pursue negotiations for nuclear disarmament. The Air Force Global Strike Command stated that the ICBM test launch program is to “verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapons system.”

Rick Wayman, Director of Programs and Operations at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, commented, “Conducting a nuclear missile test, particularly at this time, sends a clear signal to the international community that the United States believes it can continue to possess nuclear weapons indefinitely and with impunity.”

“U.S. Schedules Yet Another Controversial Minuteman III Test,” Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, May 19, 2015.

Peace

Women Cross Border Between North and South Korea

Women Cross DMZ, an international group of female peace activists led by Gloria Steinem, crossed one of the world’s most militarized borders, between North and South Korea, in order to draw attention to the need for a permanent peace treaty. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the division of the Korean peninsula. Other goals of the group were to highlight the suffering of divided families and promoting peace over war.

Mairead Maguire and Medea Benjamin, both members of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's Advisory Council, took part in the action. Maguire, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, said, "We are here today because we don’t believe in war. You can get to human rights when you have a normal situation and not a country at war."

“Gloria Steinem and Female Activists Cross Korean Demilitarized Zone,” The Guardian, May 24, 2015.

Transform Now Plowshares Activists Released from Prison

On May 8, a federal appeals court ruled that the government had overreached in charging three Transform Now Plowshares activists with sabotage, ordering the release of Sister Megan Rice and her two fellow activists. The group nonviolently broke into the grounds of the Y-12 Highly-Enriched Uranium Manufacturing Facility on July 28, 2012 and conducted a symbolic conversion of the site, spreading human blood and painting peace slogans on the walls.

After so much time in jail, Sister Megan Rice, 85, has no intention of stopping her anti-nuclear activism and is more committed than ever. One threat is that the federal government might challenge the recent ruling and try to have her thrown back in prison. “It would be an honor,” Sister Rice said during the ride. “Good Lord, what would be better than to die in prison for the anti-nuclear cause?”

William J. Broad, “Sister Megan Rice, freed From Prison, Is Unapologetic for Anti-Nuclear Activism,” The New York Times, May 26, 2015.

Nuclear Waste

Las Vegas Mayor Opposes Nuclear Waste Shipments

In response to a Department of Energy announcement that it would begin shipping uranium waste from Tennessee for storage in Nevada, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said that she would lie down in the highway to stop the transport vehicles.
"We know what happened in the nuclear testing days,” Goodman said. “We were told at the test site, ‘These things are harmless, go out and take your children to watch these wonderful mushroom clouds.’”

“I know it would bring funds to Nevada,” she added. “Sometimes there’s other, better ways to find funding.”
James Dehaven, "Vegas Mayor Will Lie Down on Highway to Block Nuke Shipments," Las Vegas Review-Journal, May 5, 2015.

Resources

June's Featured Blog

This month's featured blog is Defusing the Nuclear Threat, written by NAPF Associate Martin Hellman. Hellman is Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University and an expert in risk analysis.
Recent articles include "Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma," and "Saber Rattling Works, but Which Way?"
To read the blog, which is updated frequently, go to www.nuclearrisk.org.

This Month in Nuclear Threat History

History chronicles many instances when humans have been threatened by nuclear weapons. In this article, Jeffrey Mason outlines some of the most serious threats that have taken place in the month of June, including the June 3, 1980 incident in which the malfunction of a 46-cent computer chip caused U.S. warning systems to falsely display that the Soviet Union had launched 2,200 nuclear missiles at the United States.
To read Mason's full article, click here.
For more information on the history of the Nuclear Age, visit NAPF's Nuclear Files website.

The Growing U.S. Nuclear Threat

The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) is a network of over 30 groups around the United States, most of which are located in areas that are part of the vast U.S. nuclear weapons complex. ANA recently released a report entitled "The Growing U.S. Nuclear Threat." The report documents numerous nuclear weapon programs that are part of the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration that are vastly over budget, have major oversight and management problems, and a general lack of accountability.
Rick Wayman, NAPF Director of Programs, wrote the executive summary for this report. Wayman wrote, "The Department of Energy's budget is set to increase this year as in years past. The increased spending will undermine efforts to make the nation more secure. New, provocative investments in weapons programs and infrastructure will undermine non-proliferation efforts and introduce uncertainties into the U.S. stockpile. At the same time, cuts to the cleanup budget and failure to hold DOE and the NNSA accountable leave health risks unaddressed, environmental damage unrepaired, and urgent waste challenges unmet."
To read the report, click here.

Foundation Activities

Peace Poetry Awards: Deadline July 1

The deadline for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's annual Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards is July 1. The contest encourages poets to explore and illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit. The Poetry Awards include three age categories: Adult, Youth 13-18, and Youth 12 & Under. Cash prizes of up to $1,000 will be awarded to the winners. For more information on how to enter, click here.

Paul Chappell Selected as CMM Institute Fellow

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's Peace Leadership Director, Paul K. Chappell, has been selected as a 2015 CMM (Coordinated Management of Meaning) Institute Fellow and is one of six fellows to present at the 2015 CMM Learning Exchange and Global Integral Competence conference. This event will be held in Munich, Germany, fromSeptember 17- 20, 2015.
Chappell’s project title is “Literacy in the Art of Living, the Art of Listening, and the Art of Waging Peace.” One of the Institute’s current priorities is to promote research and interventions on selected topics that take a “communication perspective” and contribute to the common good. Proposals for the 2015 fellowships have focused on issues of conflicts and how these may be resolved or prevented by taking a “communication perspective.”
To read more, click here.

Save the Date: Sadako Peace Day is August 6

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will hold its 21st Annual Sadako Peace Day commemoration event on Thursday, August 6. This year's event, which falls on the 70th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, remembers the victims of the U.S. atomic bombings and all innocent victims of war. NAPF Peace Leadership Director Paul K. Chappell will deliver this year's keynote address.
The event will take place at 6:00 p.m. at the Sadako Peace Garden at La Casa de Maria - 800 El Bosque Road, Montecito, California. The event is free and open to the public.

Quotes

"Some powerful people make their living with the production of arms. It's the industry of death."
-- Pope Francis

"Why is it that only the security of the five [nuclear-armed members of the NPT] requires nuclear weapons, whilst no one else needs nuclear weapons for their security? If the truth is that no one's security needs nuclear weapons, then all of our security is enhanced by getting rid of nuclear weapons. If this is indeed the case, what makes it so different for the five that they feel that they have to be exempted from this universal truth?"
-- Ambassador Abdul Minty of South Africa. To read his full statement, click here.

"No one can keep a straight face and argue that sixteen thousand nuclear weapons are an appropriate threshold for global safety. We are seeing nuclear nations modernize and rebuild when they could use the opportunity to reduce. There is no right to 'indefinite possession' to continue to retain nuclear weapons on security grounds."
-- Tony de Brum, Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. To read his full statement, click here.

"Nothing could be worse than fear that one has given up too soon and left one effort unexpended which might have saved the world."
-- Jane Addams (1860-1935), American peace activist and 1931 Nobel Peace Laureate. This quote is featured in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, available online in the NAPF Peace Store.

Editorial Team

McKenna Jacquemet
David Krieger
Carol Warner
Rick Wayman

The TRUTH will set you FREE.