The Ultimate Weapon of War: Nuclear Land Mines? National Interest, Matthew Gault, 20 Sept 15 Land mines and nukes are two of the most terrifying weapons of war — for two very different reasons. Nuclear weapons can wipe out entire cities, and land mines wait buried in the earth, ready to harm anyone who wanders too close.
In the 1950s, Britain tried to combine the two into a nuclear mine … with chickens as a heating source. Yes, this was actually proposed. But we’ll get to the chickens in a moment. The Blue Peacock would have been one of the worst kinds of Cold War weapons — a nuke the enemy doesn’t know you have. The United Kingdom sought to develop and deploy 10 nuclear mines. Once completed, it would ship the nightmare weapons to the British Army of the Rhine — the U.K.’s occupation force in Germany.
The BAOR would then plant the landmines along the East German border in the north and detonate them should the Soviets ever try to cross the Iron Curtain. The project’s primary goal wasn’t to kill Soviet soldiers — though the blasts certainly could — but to irradiate and contaminate the North German Plain so Moscow’s troops couldn’t occupy it.
“A skillfully sited atomic mine would not only destroy facilities and installations over a large area, but would deny occupation of the area to an enemy for an appreciable time due to contamination,” explained a Cold War era policy paper unearthed by Discovery.
Scientists based the Blue Peacock’s design on Britain’s first atomic weapon — the Blue Danube. The Danubes were 10 to 12 kiloton bombs designed to free fall from planes. They looked cartoonish, like a bomb Wile E. Coyote might drop on the roadrunner.
The Blue Danubes packed less of a punch than Fat Man and Little Boy, so in 1954, the British Army decided to adapt that tiny nuclear punch into a land mine.
The War Office ordered development and the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment set to work converting the Danube into the Peacock. In a few years, the researchers had a prototype. The nuclear land mine used a plutonium core surrounded by conventional explosives with twin firing pins. Steel encased the entire contraption.
The project had several problems.
First, compared to a conventional land mine, the Blue Peacock was massive………
The U.S. Army developed and deployed nuclear bazookas — the Davy Crockett — in the ‘60s, but the tiny nuke was still a nuke. It takes miles for the fallout from even a small nuclear blast to dissipate. The Pentagon thought better and shelved the project.
Britain had a similar problem with its Blue Peacock. How could it detonate a nuclear land mine without being anywhere near the device? It came up with two solutions, one ingenious and the other bizarre……….
The British Army shelved the project. One of the prototype Blue Peacocks is currently on display at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Historical Collection in England.
Britain’s attempts to develop a nuclear land mine were crazy, but it wasn’t the only time a nuclear power attempted to develop mines and smaller, more tactical nuclear munitions. It was just one reflection of the mad logic that was 1950s atomic war planning.
This piece first appeared in WarIsBoring here. http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-ultimate-weapon-war-nuclear-land-mines-13890
New round of debate over Salem nuke’s water intake http://enviropoliticsblog.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/new-round-of-debate-over-salem-nukes.html#.Vf9Nq9KqpHw A regional environmental group set the stage Friday for a new round in the decades long battle over Salem nuclear plant cooling-water demands, submitting the most-detailed critique yet of the site’s 3-billion-gallon-per-day draw from the Delaware River. Jeff Montgomery reports for the The News Journal:
Delaware Riverkeeper, a multi-state environmental and conservation group, said New Jersey’s renewal of a federally required permit for the twin reactors’ intakes would be “irresponsible,” based on newly submitted and past economic and ecological studies.
Costs cited in possible closure of Pilgrim nuclear plant, Cape Cod Times, Christine Legere @chrislegereCCT 20 Sep 15 Entergy Corp. will announce some time this winter whether it will move forward with costly repairs and upgrades to the beleaguered Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station or simply decide the 43-year-old plant is no longer a moneymaker and close it down.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission downgraded Pilgrim to the bottom of the performance list for the nation’s 99 operating reactors two weeks ago, based on the frequency of forced shutdowns and equipment failures there since 2013.
The so-called Column 4 category is just one step above mandatory shutdown by federal regulators. Only two other reactors in the country are in that performance category, both at Arkansas Nuclear I and both owned by Entergy.
Spokeswoman Lauren Burm said Entergy is now faced with a big decision. “If the corporation finds the cost of making improvements exceeds the value of the plant, it may consider shutting Pilgrim down,” Burm said.
Burm also noted the challenges of the current energy market. “The wholesale market has dropped and natural gas is hard to compete with,” she said.
Entergy must produce a performance improvement plan for federal regulators within six months, but a decision on Entergy’s future should be made long before then.
David Noyes, Pilgrim’s director of regulatory and performance improvement, said the scope of required work — along with cost figures he anticipates will be in the millions — is nearly ready for review by Entergy’s corporate leaders.
“They will work out the business models in terms of profitability,” Noyes said. Whether the plant continues to be financially viable will then be determined.
Costs will include necessary equipment, experts to monitor and analyze plant data, and workers to make required changes and upgrades, since the 600 current employees of the plant are needed for day-to-day operation.
Entergy just recently spent $70 million on Pilgrim, on equipment and additional staff, during its April refueling, yet the plant has been forced to power down twice since then.
Entergy must also pay the NRC for inspections, which have been frequent due to the plant’s performance.
Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the NRC, said last year’s inspections cost the company $1.8 million. Inspectors spent 6,500 hours at the plant, at a rate of $279 per hour.
The frequency of inspections will increase, Sheehan said, now that Pilgrim has been downgraded.
Meanwhile state Sen. Daniel Wolf, a Democrat from Harwich and longtime Pilgrim critic, has filed two bills that would add about $58 million to Entergy’s yearly expenses. The bills are expected to be considered this fall, Wolf said.
The first would impose a $10,000 annual charge for each spent fuel bundle that remains in pools at nuclear plants. Pilgrim has more than 3,000 bundles in its pool, making the charge $33 million. Wolf’s second bill would institute a requirement that $25 million be paid annually by nuclear plants into a decommissioning fund, so enough money would be available to cover closure.
“If those bills were to pass, that would be part of our evaluation of future viability,” Noyes said.
Wolf said he would like to see Pilgrim shut down. “This is a nuclear plant that federal officials have designated as a Category 4, a low to moderate safety risk; that’s just not acceptable,” Wolf said…….
Entergy closed Vermont Yankee, a boiling-water reactor similar to Pilgrim, in 2014, saying it was no longer economically viable. The corporation has secured federal approval to keep the Vermont plant in SafStor, which means fuel is removed from the reactor and stored in the spent fuel pools, but the reactor itself and all its components can remain onsite for 60 years.
Earlier this month, Entergy informed its investors that it will decide before the end of this calendar year whether to close the New York-based FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, also similar to Pilgrim in size and type. “The decision will be based on the market,” Burm said……http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150920/NEWS/150929946
US threatens North Korea with ‘severe consequences’ if it flouts nuclear ban Guardian, 18 Sept 15
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, says his country’s position is clear: ‘We will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state’ North Korea would face “severe consequences” if it continued with its announced decision to restart a nuclear reactor, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, has said.
Pyongyang has said it is restarting the long-mothballed Yongbyon reactor, which is capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium, and has threatened to launch a rocket, a move seen internationally as a test of ballistic missile technology.
Asked whether Washington could respond credibly to North Korea after striking a deal to allow Iran’s nuclear program to continue, Kerry insisted it could.
“There will be severe consequences as we go forward if North Korea does not refrain from its irresponsible provocations that aggravate regional concerns, make the region less safe, and if it refuses to live up to its international obligations,” he said.
“Our position is clear: we will not accept a DPRK – North Korea – as a nuclear weapons state, just as we said that about Iran.”
Asked what the US could do if North Korea continued to flout bans on its nuclear and missile programs, Kerry said Kim Jong-un’s regime was already experiencing growing diplomatic isolation………
North Korea mothballed the Yongbyon reactor in 2007 under a six-nation aid-for-disarmament accord but began renovating it after its latest nuclear test in 2013.
When fully operational the reactor is capable of producing about 6kg (13lb) of plutonium a year – enough for one nuclear bomb, experts say. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/us-threatens-north-korea-with-severe-consequences-if-it-flouts-nuclear-ban
Last bid to kill Iran nuclear deal blocked in Senate WASHINGTON | BY PATRICIA ZENGERLE U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked legislation meant to kill the Iran nuclear deal for a third time, securing perhaps the greatest foreign policy win of President Barack Obama’s six years in office and clearing the way to implement the accord.
By a 56-42 vote, the Republican-majority Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the 100-member chamber.
Despite an intense and expensive lobbying effort against it, all but four of Obama’s fellow Democrats backed the nuclear pact between the United States, five other world powers and Tehran announced in July.
With no more Senate votes this week, the result ensured Congress will not pass a resolution of disapproval that would have crippled the deal by eliminating Obama’s ability to waive many sanctions.
A resolution would have had to pass both the Senate and House of Representatives by midnight Thursday, and survive Obama’s veto, to be enacted………http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/17/us-iran-nuclear-congress-idUSKCN0RF2VX20150917
How Charles Koch Prevents Clean Energy Businesses From Succeeding TruthOut 02 September 2015 By Matthew Kasper, Republic Report | News Analysis Last week, President Obama correctly singled out the Koch brothers – Charles and David – and the Koch-funded network for standing in the way of America’s clean energy future. Charles Koch responded saying he was “flabbergasted” after hearing Obama’s remark. He continued, “We are not trying to prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding.” This statement is, at best, highly misleading.
Charles Koch states that he believes government should be smaller and it should not subsidize businesses, including any form of energy business. But while he acknowledges that the fossil fuel businesses he owns benefit tremendously from government subsidies, he doesn’t refuse those benefits or do anything to stop those policy choices. Meanwhile, the Kochs use their political influence and funding for efforts to repeal laws designed to support the deployment of more renewable electricity. Specifically, their political network’s agenda includes weakening renewable energy standards, preventing customers from installing solar panels (by charging fees on people that go solar), and protecting the government monopolized electric utilities.
The facts are indisputable.
Note: For more background, read this full briefing on the Koch’s web of influence across American society.
Here are the facts:
The Saturday Night Live Approach to Nuclear Safety: More Cowbell! Dave Lochbaum, director, Nuclear Safety Project, 15 Sep 15 The April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live broadcast featured a skit with cast members pretending to be the rock group Blue Oyster Cult in the recording studio with a famous music producer, played by actor Christopher Walken. The skit is remembered for Walken’s character stating “I gotta have more cowbell.”
The NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) needs more cowbell, too.
The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant shut down in April 2011 for a refueling outage. The outage was planned to last a handful of weeks while workers replaced spent fuel assemblies with new assemblies and performed routine maintenance and testing activities. The plan went awry when the ROP identified safety problems that needed to be corrected before the reactor could be restarted.
The operators restarted Fort Calhoun in December 2013 after a short refueling outage morphed into a 32-month safety restoration outage. On March 30, 2015, the NRCannounced that it was returning Fort Calhoun to normal handling under the ROP. The NRC also reported expending over 60,000 hours since December 2011 on inspection, assessment and licensing tasks at Fort Calhoun.
60,000 hours is a number without context. To help put this value in context, the NRCreported having expended 6,652 hours, 6,612 hours, and 6,782 hours of total oversight effort at the average nuclear plant in 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively. So the average nuclear plant received an average of 6,682 hours of oversight from the NRC annually.
Between 2012 and 2014, Fort Calhoun received an average of 18,462 hours of oversight effort each year from the NRC.
Thus, Fort Calhoun received the equivalent of 2.76 nuclear plants’ worth of regulatory oversight attention from the NRC between 2012 and 2014……
The problems that kept Fort Calhoun shut down for 32 months were not introduced in 2009 and 2010 after the NRC returned Fort Calhoun to Column 1—they existed all along. Yet the NRC’s ROP missed them all. The ROP missed every single one of them, until after the first quarter of 2011. After that time, finding safety problems was like shooting fish in a barrel—NRC inspectors could hardly turn around without finding yet another safety problem that had to be fixed prior to restart.
Rather than expending so much time and effort ensuring that the barn door has been closed, safety would be better served by noticing that it’s open sooner. Cowbells should have sounded long before the first quarter of 2011.
UCS’s fact sheet documented many safety problems that existed at Fort Calhoun for years before the ROP’s inception in 2000. Two of the safety problems involved the emergency diesel generators (EDGs).
EDGs are among the most safety significant components at the plant. Consequently, they receive considerable oversight attention by the NRC. Yet that attention failed to identify either of these two problems that had existed since at least 1990.
And it was not just one miss or even two misses by one NRC inspector—it was a lot of misses by a lot of NRC inspectors over a lot of years. A search of ADAMS, the NRC’s online digital library, identified 39 inspections conducted at Fort Calhoun by the NRC between 2000 and 2010 inclusive that included some oversight of the EDGs.
Something is fundamentally wrong with safety inspections of highly safety significant components that fail to notice safety problems. Finding safety problems isn’t one of the reasons for conducting the safety inspections—it’s the only reason for doing them.
And yet many safety problems remained undetected until 2011 when it took an army of workers more than two years to correct them all.
Fort Calhoun is not an isolated case. It marked the 52nd time that a U.S. reactor had to remain shut down longer than a year while safety problems were corrected. The majority of these year-plus outages involved a myriad of safety problems that had existed for months and sometimes years before being noticed.
And yet many safety problems remained undetected until 2011 when it took an army of workers more than two years to correct them all…….http://allthingsnuclear.org/the-saturday-night-live-approach-to-nuclear-safety-more-cowbell/
US and Australian taxpayers pay billions a year to fund coal – report, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/16/us-australian-taxpayers-pay-billions-fund-coal
Ending US subsidies would lead to cuts in coal use equivalent to shutting up to 32 coal-fired power stations, according to the report. Damian Carrington, 16 Sept 15
Ending subsidies, that amount to almost a quarter of the sale price in some cases, would hugely reduce carbon emissions, new research reveals
Coal subsidies are costing US and Australian taxpayers billions of dollars a year, according to a new report.
The research examined the subsidies given to coal production in the US’s largest coal field, the Powder River Basin, and found they totalled $2.9bn (£1.9bn) a year. This equates to $8 per tonne, almost 25% of the sale price.
Ending the subsidies would lead to cuts in coal use equivalent to shutting up to 32 coal-fired power stations, the researchers found, leading to a large reduction in carbon emissions.
The report also analysed Australia’s exporting of coal for power stations in Asia and found these came to $1.3bn a year, or $4 a tonne. Ending these subsidies would cut demand by up to 7%, a smaller impact than in the US because coal users could buy supplies from other countries.
“The fossil fuel industry has gamed energy market consumers, with numerous subsidies evident over the long term,” said Tim Buckley, at the Institute forEnergy Economics and Financial Analysis, who worked on the report. “Any discussion of cost competitiveness of renewable energy and energy efficiency needs to take into account the decades of extensive subsidies evident for the coal industry and that, in many cases, remain in place today.”
Luke Sussams, senior researcher at Carbon Tracker Initiative, also part of the research team, said: “Policy makers concerned about climate change and a level playing field in energy markets should look to take coordinated action to remove the distortions to production these subsidies create.”
The subsidies given to coal companies included tax breaks, cheap leases, government-funded infrastructure including railways and ports and allowing inadequate funding of clean-up operation after mining ends.
The G20 nations pledged to end fossil fuel subsidies in 2009, but little action has been taken. However, falling oil and coal prices in the last year have seen some countries starting to reduce subsidies.
A recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took into account not just direct subsidies but also the cost to nations of the damage caused by air pollution and global warming. It estimated coal, oil and gas were being subsidised by $5.3trn a year, more than the total health spending of all the world’s governments. Much of the cost is due to the illness and death caused by air pollution.
“Eliminating coal subsidies in the Powder River Basin and throughout the world, is an obvious, no-regrets climate strategy,” said Doug Koplow, of Earth Track and another member of the research team.
The new report, called Assessing Thermal Coal Production Subsidies, was produced by the Carbon Tracker Initiative, Energy Transition Advisors, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and Earth Track.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) connects state lawmakers with corporateHow Charles Koch Prevents Clean Energy Businesses From Succeeding, TruthOut 02 September 2015 By Matthew Kasper, Republic Report | News Analysis Last week, President Obama correctly singled out the Koch brothers – Charles and David – and the Koch-funded network for standing in the way of America’s clean energy Continue reading
Entergy’s FitzPatrick Reactor May Be Next Nuclear Casualty, Power, 09/14/2015 | Sonal Patel Entergy’s 850-MW James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant located near Oswego, N.Y., may be the next reactor doomed to close on profitability woes. Entergy’s CEO Leo Denault told attendees at the Barclays CEO EnergyPower Conference on Sept. 10 that the company will need to decide by the end of this year whether to go forward with plans to refuel the FitzPatrick plant in Fall 2016.
The single-unit 1975-built reactor is one of six merchant nuclear plants that Entergy operates in the Northeast. Competition from low-cost gas and subsidized wind power has undercut power prices, making it difficult for FitzPatrick to make money (see POWER‘s latest story on how Exelon is dealing with similar issues)………Entergy in December 2014 shuttered its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant because it was unprofitable. The Louisiana-based company acknowledged that the FitzPatrick plant, which gained the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s green light to run until 2034, has been flailing financially for two years now. However, the company is determined to continue operating its two Indian Point units in New York despite strong opposition by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and environmental advocacy groups, Denault said, because its a “primary source of value earnings and … cash flow.” http://www.powermag.com/entergys-fitzpatrick-reactor-may-be-next-nuclear-casualty/
Nun who broke into nuclear weapons complex resentenced http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nun-85-who-broke-into-nuclear-weapons-complex-resentenced-megan-rice/ NASHVILLE, Tenn. 15 Sep 15— An 85-year-old nun and two fellow Catholic peace activists have been resentenced to time served for vandalizing a storage bunkerthat held much of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium.
Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed were originally convicted of felony sabotage for their 2012 actions in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where they cut through fences and sneaked into the most secure area of the Y-12 National Security Complex. Once there, they hung banners, prayed and hammered on the outside wall of the bunker to symbolize a Bible passage that refers to the end of all war: “They will beat their swords into ploughshares.”
Rice was sentenced to nearly three years in prison while Walli, 66, and Boertje-Obed, 60, were each sentenced to just over five years. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the sabotage charge in May, leaving a conviction on the lesser charge of injuring government property. When they were released from prison in June, the anti-nuclear activists had already served two years.
Government prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar to put the activists on supervised released.
Defense attorney Judy Kwan said the judge on Tuesday ordered two years of unsupervised release instead. During that time the activists are prohibited from going onto the grounds of any nuclear facilities.
The activists asked the judge to reduce the amount of restitution they were ordered to pay for damage at Y-12, nearly $53,000. He denied that request, Kwan said.
Rice and Walli, who live in Washington, D.C., and Boertje-Obed, who lives in Minnesota, are part of a loose network of activists who oppose the spread of nuclear weapons through provocative non-violent protests they call ploughshares actions. In the aftermath of their break-in at Y-12, federal officials implemented sweeping changes, including new management and a new defense security chief to oversee all of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s sites.
Columbia, Maryland Running On 100% Renewable Energy Energy Matters, 15 Sept 15 A new solar power station has enabled Columbia Association to complete its transformation to running facilities and services in Columbia, Maryland on 100 per cent renewable energy.
Columbia is an unincorporated city of nearly 100,000 people that was established in the 1960’s; part of the New Towns Movement in the United States. Its founder, James Rouse, sought to build a complete city that would respect the land and provide for the growth of people as well as making a profit.
Columbia Association (CA) is the nonprofit service corporation that manages Columbia. It operates a vast array of infrastructure, recreational, cultural and community services within the community; including fitness facilities, tennis clubs and dozens of swimming pools.
Columbia Association had been sourcing 75 percent of its energy from wind renewable energy credits. The final 25 percent is now being generated by a newly completed two megawatt solar farm; a project of SunEdison and Bithenergy.
The Nixon Farm solar project is located West Friendship, Maryland. Electricity generated by the plant is provided to Columbia via virtual net metering and under a 20 year power purchase agreement with SunEdison.
“With the completion of the Nixon Farm solar power plant, the people of Columbia now enjoy the environmental and cost benefits of getting 100 percent of their electricity from renewable sources,” said Steve Raeder, SunEdison’s general manager of Eastern U.S. commercial and industrial solar…….In addition to its renewable energy efforts, Columbia Association has been very active as an Energy Star Partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), promoting the benefits of the program to the community as well as carrying out various energy efficiency upgrades within the facilities it operates. http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/sunedison-columbia-solar-em5061/
Alabama Power Getting 500 MW Renewable Energy Plan, Clean Technica September 15th, 2015 by Steve Hanley Originally published on Solar Love.
Alabama has 2 megawatts of installed renewable power at present, which ranks it among the bottom 10 states in that category. But that is going to change quickly, after the Alabama Public Service Commission gave its blessing recently to a plan that will allow Alabama Power to add 500 megawatts of new renewable power within 6 years……..
Southern-tier states enjoy much more sunlight than northern states and could generate most if not all the electricity they need from renewable sources. Alabama has failed to capitalize on its renewable assets until now, but will soon become a model for its neighboring states to emulate. http://cleantechnica.com/2015/09/15/alabama-power-getting-500-mw-renewable-energy-plan/
Aspen Stands Tall As Third US City Achieves 100% Renewable Energy http://cleantechnica.com/2015/09/15/aspen-stands-tall-third-us-city-achieves-100-renewable-energy/ September 15th, 2015 by Glenn Meyers
Aspen, the Colorado skiing-Mecca, now stands tall as a renewable energy visionary, having become one of three US cities to run on 100% renewable energy. This news was recently reported by The Aspen Times, citing staff members at Aspen’s environmental and project departments. The City of Aspen, a famed tourist location in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, serves a population of just over 6,600 people, and its renewable power supply comes from a combination of wind, hydro, geothermal heat, and solar.
The plan for shifting to renewable energy and meeting the challenges of climate changedates back to 2005. According to Chris Menges and Will Dolan, from Aspen’s Sustainability and Utility departments:
“In 2005, the City created the Canary Initiative, which identifies Aspen and other mountain communities as “canaries in the coal mine” with respect to their sensitivity to the effects of climate change. Aspen relies on a stable climate and thriving natural environment for its economic viability and quality of life. In 2007, Aspen City Council adopted the Canary Action Plan, committing to the GHG reduction goals.”
The first two US cities to reach the goal were Burlington, Vermont, followed by Greensburg, Kansas.
Aspen’s transition to 100% renewable occurred September 10, after the city signed a contract with wholesale electric energy provider Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska in order “to achieve this final leg of our goal,” city Utilities and Environmental Initiatives director David Hornbacher said.
Aspen receives wind energy from four wind farms in Nebraska and South Dakota, and the city also uses energy from Ruedi Reservoir, Maroon Creek, and Ridgway Reservoir, a hydropower facility near Montrose. Two utilities, Aspen Electric Utility and Holy Cross Energy, serve the community.
Mother Nature Network reports other cities aiming for 100% renewable energy include Copenhagen, Denmark; Bonaire, a Caribbean island; Munich and Frankfurt, Germany; San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco, California; Sydney, Australia; and Isle of Wight, England.
US Senate Democrats block effort by Republicans to kill Iran nuclear deal, ABC Nws 11 Sept 15 US president Barack Obama has achieved perhaps the greatest foreign policy victory of his six years in office, with a Republican-backed effort to kill the Iran nuclear agreement being narrowly blocked in the US Senate.
Forty Democrats and two independents voted to block a resolution disapproving of the pact in the 100-member chamber, one more than the minimum needed to keep it from advancing.
“This vote is a victory for diplomacy, for American national security, and for the safety and security of the world,” Mr Obama said in a statement after a vote he termed “an historic step forward”.
But Senate Republicans insisted the fight w was not over……….
Under a law Mr Obama signed in May, Congress has until September 17 to pass a resolution disapproving of the international agreement.
If such a resolution were to pass, and survive Mr Obama’s promised veto, it would bar the president from waiving many US sanctions on Tehran, a key component of the nuclear deal.
But there was no sign any votes would change, and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid bluntly responded: “This matter is over with.”……….The defeat came despite an intense $US40 million lobbying campaign against the agreement, largely by conservative pro-Israel groups. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-11/attempt-to-kill-iran-nuclear-agreement-narrowly-blocked/6768560
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