weapons and war « nuclear-news

Nuclear weapons an outdated and false way to national security – Ban Ki-moon

National budget priorities still tend to reflect the old paradigms.
Massive military spending and new investments in modernising nuclear weapons have left the world over-armed – and peace under-funded.

Time to explode the myth that nuclear weapons bring security
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Time-to-explode-the-myth-that-nuclear-weapons-brin-30189402.html Ban Ki-moon August 31, 2012 Last month, competing interests prevented agreement on a much-needed treaty that would have reduced theappalling human cost of the poorly regulated international arms trade.

Meanwhile, nuclear disarmament efforts remain stalled, despite strong and growing global popular sentiment in support of this cause.

The failure of these negotiations and this month’s anniversaries of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki provide a good opportunity to explore what has gone wrong, why disarmament and arms control have proven so difficult to achieve, and how the world
community can get back on track toward these vitally important goals.

Many defence establishments now recognise that security means far more than protecting borders. Grave security concerns can arise as a result of demographic trends, chronic poverty, economic inequality, environmental degradation, pandemic diseases, organised crime,
repressive governance and other developments no state can control alone. Arms can’t address such concerns. Continue reading →

August 31, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Ban Ki-moon speaks on International Day against Nuclear Tests, August 29

Global Ban on Nuclear Tests Vital for Achieving More Secure World: UN Chief http://thesop.org/story/20120829/global-ban-on-nuclear-tests-vital-for-achieving-more-secure-world-un-chief.html By SOP newswire3 Ban Ki-moon today stressed the importance of a global ban on nuclear tests to achieve a safer and more secure world, calling on all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the international treaty that seeks to achieve this goal. Nuclear tests remain a threat to human health and global stability, ” Mr. Ban said in his message for the third annual International Day against Nuclear Tests, observed on 29 August.

The Day highlights the efforts of the UN and a growing community of advocates, including Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and media in informing and educating on the importance of the
nuclear-test-ban.

The General Assembly chose 29 August as the annual commemoration date since it marks the day in 1991 when Semipalatinsk, one of the largest test sites in the world and located in north-eastern Kazakhstan, was closed for good. Continue reading →

August 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear armed State pose a greater threat to world peace, than does Iran

United States possesses about 5,000 total warheads, 1,737 of which are operational, Russia, France, and UK alone possess a total of over 1,900 deployed strategic warheads which are ready to be fired at any moment.

eight states – the United States, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan and Israel – possessed approximately 4,400 operational nuclear weapons. Nearly 2,000 of these are kept in a state of high operational alert.

Nuclear powers push world to brink of apocalypse: Analyst http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/26/258252/nuke-powers-push-globe-to-apocalypse/ A political analyst has lashed out at the West’s campaign to halt Iran’s nuclear energy program, while the colossal nuclear stockpile of the global powers is pushing the world to the brink of a nuclear apocalypse.

“With over 2000 highly operational nuclear weapons already in the world, it seems ridiculously ironic to try to attribute global insecurity to Iranian nuclear energy program which the US, Israel and some western countries claim to include military purposes,” Dr. Ismail Salami said in an article published on the Press TV website.

The author noted that instead of focusing on Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program on merely political grounds, the international community should be concerned about “the states in possession of the myriad nuclear bombs across the world.” Continue reading →

August 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Russia committed to nuclear disarmament, but USA’s missile shield is the obstacle

Putin says Russian nuclear cuts to hinge on U.S. missile shield By Nastassia Astrasheuskaya http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/24/russia-usa-nuclear-idINDEE87N0EX20120824 MOSCOW Aug 24, 2012 (Reuters) – Moscow is open to the idea of new nuclear arms cuts on a reciprocal basis and if Washington addresses its concerns about a U.S.-led missile defence system in Europe, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Continue reading →

August 25, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Rocketing costs of upgrading B61 bomb

Cost of Nuclear Bomb Upgrade Doubles to $8 Billion,http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2012/08/22/cost-of-nuclear-bomb-upgrade-doubles-to-8-billion/ Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2012 One of the oldest nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal is the B-61 gravity bomb. It was first designed in the 1960s to be dropped over a target by airplane. The U.S. government is in the process of getting ready to do a life extension (ie. upgrade) on the bomb.

The upgrade was estimated in 2010 to cost $2 billion. That has now doubled to $8 billion. But there is also an independent Pentagon cost estimate noting the program will come in at $10 billion. The number of bombs to be upgraded is classified.

Here is the Washington Post’s view on this project:
“Who will be deterred by the refurbished B-61? Is the symbolism of deploying the nuclear gravity bomb in Europe worth the billions of dollars? Does it make sense to embark on a $10 billion program to refurbish a weapon that could be put on the table in negotiations with Russia a few years from now? In an age of scarce resources, such questions can’t be slighted. “

August 23, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Could Malta lead the way to nuclear disarmament?

One Step At a Time – Nuclear disarmament: Could Malta lead the way? The Malta Independent 19 August 2012 Prof. Martin Hellman, Stanford University with the support of ICT Gozo Malta Project’s Ron Kelson (Synaptic Labs), Dave Pace, and Benjamin Gittins (Synaptic Labs)

At first, it might seem inconceivable that tiny Malta could lead the world in solving an issue as momentous as nuclear disarmament. Continue reading →

August 20, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Netanyahu and Ehud Barak wanting war, against all good advice?

Zone of Insanity Are Bibi Netanyahu and Ehud Barak really crazy enough to bomb Iran — against the wishes of the United States and their own people? Foreign Policy, BY JAMES TRAUB | AUGUST 17, 2012 It must drive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu crazy that scarcely anybody outside his immediate circle of advisors — oh, and Mitt Romney — understands the imperative for war against Iran.

Israel’s retired security chiefs uniformly consider a war unnecessary right now. Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, agrees. A poll released this week found the Israeli public opposed to war by a solid 46 percent to 32 percent. As for the United States, Defense Secretary Leon Panettainsists that “the window is still open to try to work toward a diplomatic solution.” ……

It’s unclear whether Netanyahu is trying to prepare domestic public opinion for an imminent Israeli strike on Iran, or hoping to bully U.S. President Barack Obama into making some sort of ironclad promise to launch airstrikes — should Iran cross some stipulated red line or should diplomacy fail to deter the Iranians by a stipulated date. Netanyahu would plainly prefer an American attack, which would do far more damage to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure than an Israeli one would, but he may have concluded (as Barak intimated) that Israel will have to act alone rather than risk American inaction. Yet Netanyahu has put Obama in the almost impossible position of having to reassure Israel that the United States will act if necessary — thus reassuring American swing voters that he has Israel’s back — without binding himself to fight Israel’s war on Israel’s terms. Obama has already allowed Israel to back him into a corner by saying that he would go to war rather than accept a nuclear Iran, but apparently Netanyahu and Barak don’t believe him…..

The real danger, of course, is that Netanyahu might conclude that Israel has to go it alone. The smart money still thinks he’s bluffing, but Ross told me that the “decision-maker” interview convinced him that Barak and Netanyahu really are prepared to fight their own war. The Obama administration has prepared for this eventuality with a series of statements paying elaborate deference to Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself as it sees fit. I can only say that I hope that officials are sending a different message in private — making it very clear to their Israeli counterparts that they will not be drawn into a war with Iran and that a unilateral decision by Israel will do very grave harm to relations with the United States. If Netanyahu wants to go ahead anyway and pay that price on top of everything else — if “an existential threat” means that it’s irresponsible to balance benefits with costs — then it’s up to the Israeli public to decide what to do about their fearless, feckless leader. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/17/zone_of_insanity

August 18, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, weapons and war | Leave a comment

UN watchdog may lower its estimate of ‘missing’ Iran uranium August 17, 2012 BUSINESS RECORDER The United Nations’ atomic watchdog may decide that less uranium is missing at an Iranian research site than it had previously thought, diplomats say, and that may go some way to easing concerns that it may have been diverted for military use…. http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/172/1228763/

August 18, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Strike on Iran’s nuclear program could provoke bloody month-long war: Israeli defence chief National Post, Amy Teibel, Associated Press | Aug 15, 2012 JERUSALEM — An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program could trigger a bloody month-long war on multiple fronts, killing hundreds of Israelis or more, the Israeli Cabinet’s civil defence chief warned in an interview published Wednesday.

It was the most explicit assessment yet of how the government sees events unfolding in the aftermath of an Israeli attack.

Matan Vilnai, who is stepping down as the “home front” Cabinet minister to become Israel’s ambassador to China, described the scenarios to Israel’s Maariv daily at a time of heightened debate about the Iranian nuclear threat. Vilnai, a retired general who was
deputy military chief of staff, has spent the past five years overseeing upgrades of Israel’s civil defence systems, including air-raid sirens, bomb shelters and a public alert system.

It could be that there will be fewer fatalities, but it could be there will be more. That is the scenario that we are preparing for according to the best experts
In the Maariv interview, Vilnai said “the home front is ready as never before.” Nonetheless, he said the country must be braced for heavy casualties in the case of conflict with Iran……

At a news briefing in Washington on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
reaffirmed the U.S. assessment that Israel has not yet decided whether to strike, while the U.S. military chief, Gen. Martin Dempsey, echoed a widely held assessment that an Israeli operation would only set back, not destroy, Iran’s nuclear project.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/15/strike-on-irans-nuclear-program-could-provoke-bloody-month-long-war-israeli-defence-chief/

August 16, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Japanese politicians moving towards nuclear weapons

In April the LDP published proposals for a constitutional amendment, which would eviscerate Article 9, the key to Japan’s peace Constitution. Article 9 famously renounces war and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes…..

Japan playing nuclear roulette, By KEVIN RAFFERTY The Japan Times, 15 Aug 12, HONG KONG — J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the prominent fathers of the atomic bomb, had read the Bhagavad Gita, and when he saw the first test of the weapon, he quoted the terrifying line from the Hindu scripture: “Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds.” It is hard to imagine the horror of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima 67 years ago. It seared the sky and instantaneously wiped much of the city and tens of thousands of people, and left a trail of misery that continues today, but which should not be forgotten.

Sadly, leading Japanese politicians today seem to have forgotten the lessons of the war and its savage end. Powerful politicians are hard at work trying to scrap Article 9 of the Constitution — which renounces war — and some of them want to go all-out to build a
Japanese nuclear weapon. Continue reading →

August 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

India ramps up the nuclear weapons race

ndia test-fires nuclear capable Agni-II missile, Hindustan Times, Balasore, Odisha, August 09, 2012 Sharpening its missile teeth, India on Thursday successfully test-fired its medium range nuclear capable Agni-II missile with a strike range of 2000km as part of a user trial by the Army from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. …..
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Odisha/India-successfully-test-fires-Agni-II-missile/Article1-910715.aspx

India to launch nuclear submarine in arms race, The Age, 11 Aug 12. INDIA will soon launch its first home-built nuclear submarine, capable of firing ballistic missiles, as the country escalates an arms race with China and Pakistan.

INS Arihant, planned to be the first of five of its class, would soon be ready to begin sea trials, said Admiral Nirmal Verma, the Indian navy’s chief of staff. When the vessel is operational, India will be able to launch nuclear missiles from the sea, land and air, joining a handful of countries possessing the ”nuclear triad”. …. http://www.theage.com.au/world/india-to-launch-nuclear-submarine-in-arms-race-20120810-23zxh.html#ixzz23Hk1Y1bg

August 11, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear war danger in USA’s Air-Sea Battle plan

US blueprint for war with China flawed and could spark nuclear strikes, says expert http://www.melbournetimesweekly.com.au/news/world/world/general/us-blueprint-for-war-with-china-flawed-and-could-spark-nuclear-strikes-says-expert/2646720.aspx DYLAN WELCH 09 Aug, 2012 THE US government might like to deny it, but Barack Obama’s former intelligence chief has confirmed China is a principal target of a major US war plan.

The American plan, known in Washington as Air-Sea Battle, is strategically flawed, Australia’s foremost regional defence expert, Hugh White, said, and risks escalating a US-China struggle to the level of nuclear strikes. It is also known to have angered the Chinese military, and the confirmation is likely to be viewed with displeasure in Beijing. Continue reading →

August 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Israel, not Iran, greatest threat to world peace

“The greatest threat to the world is clearly nuclear-armed Israel with its almost daily threats to launch an attack on Iran, inevitably involving the U.S. in a potentially catastrophic Middle East war,”

Hush Now, Mitt: A Nuclear Iran Is Not the World’s Greatest Threat, The Atlantic, AUG 7 2012, Three-quarters of national security experts polled disagreed with the candidate. Three-quarters of National Journal’s National Security Insiders disagreed with a recent statement by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who said a nuclear Iran represents the greatest threat to the world.

If Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon, Romney told Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, it would pose the most serious threat to the world, to the United States and to Israel’s existence.

Not so, said 73 percent of NJ’s pool of national-security experts, even as they acknowledged that a nuclear Iran could have a destabilizing effect on the Middle East and erode international nonproliferation efforts. “It would be an unmitigated negative for U.S. interests,” one Insider said. “But it is not the greatest security threat facing the U.S. or the world at large.” Continue reading →

August 8, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, Israel, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Joint Staffs General Calls for Cut in Nuclear Reserve

06 Aug 2012 By Greg McDonald Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has called for the nation’s reserve of nuclear weapons to be reduced, citing its size and expense to maintain.

Schwartz became the first sitting member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to suggest publiclythat the so-called “active reserve,” or backup supply of U.S. nuclear weapons should be cut back, the Boston Globe reported Monday.

“We have more backup systems in terms of weapons systems than we
actually have deployed,” Schwartz said in an interview with the Globe.
“Some of that is a reasonable hedge [but] there is probably room for
reductions.”

The Globe said Schwartz’s call for cuts in the reserve to be
considered is supported by a report earlier this year from retired
Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, whom the Globe said had been in
charge of all U.S. nuclear weapons.

According to the newspaper, the Cartwright report “recommended that
the United States during the next 10 year years reduce its nuclear
force to a total of 900 weapons, half of them on alert and half in
reserve.”… The reserves are a legacy of the Cold War nuclear
standoff between the United States and the former Soviet Union. …
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Schwartz-nukes-cut-general/2012/08/06/id/447660

August 8, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Obama would spend up big on weapons, and Romney, even bigger

a Romney administration would fork out roughly $800 billion toward national defense in 2016 — a notably higher amount than the trimmed-down $578 billion proposed by the Obama administration.

Is Pentagon spending good for the economy? By Guy Taylor-The Washington Times , August 5, 2012 In a time of deep deficits and tight budgets, President Obama says theDefense Department cannot be entirely spared the scalpel. But Mitt Romney, his likely opponent in November’s election, says the U.S. must spend more on the Pentagon now because it will pay off with a stronger economy in the long run.