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Time for American lawmakers to press for USA to sign up to the UN Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty

Local Opinion: U.S. should limit nuclear weapons, Raymond Graap, Special to the Arizona Daily Star, 8 Nov 21,

ED. The writer first outlines the near misses – almost nuclear war, that have occurred from the 1960sc onward 

”……………This story is told to show how close we came, and how one individual prevented nuclear catastrophe. There have been at least seven other instances when we came very close. Nearly all were terminated by the action of one person, utilizing human judgement instead of reliance on computer warning systems. Humans have made errors, too. The last was a false alarm in Hawaii on Jan. 13, 2018, when a technician sent out the following: “EMERGENCY ALERT. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL”. Chaotic activity throughout the state followed until a second message 38 minutes later went out advising that the first was an error.

• So, what have we learned about controlling these global terminating weapons? That we must have a different approach. Instead of restraint, the U.S. is on a frantic race to modernize and replace all our bombers, land-based missiles and submarines. So, what are other nuclear-armed countries doing? The same. All are spending huge amounts of money on weapons that no one can use without committing national and global suicide.
• However, for the first time in our history, a treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons was passed by the United Nations in 2017 and entered into force in January of this year after the 50th nation ratified it. This represents our only hope as it outlaws the use, possession, manufacture, threat of use, and transfer of nuclear weapons. The goal is the global elimination of these sordid inventions of the human mind.

How many of the nuclear weapons-armed nations have signed on? None, the U.S. included. Our senators and representatives need to vigorously support this effort.

Graap is a retired physician and board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, , Arizona Chapter. Information about current efforts to abolish nuclear weapons is available at www.preventnuclearwar.org.  https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-u-s-should-limit-nuclear-weapons/article_1b44011e-3e50-11ec-b9b4-c3cf4a446a5d.html

November 9, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war