Department of Energy Calls for Public Comment on Complex Transformation SPEIS – Peace Action Responds with a call for Nuclear Abolition

(Washington, DC – 1/16/08) – The Department of Energy has dedicated a 90 day comment period to the Bush Administration’s proposed nuclear weapons production facility formally known as Complex 2030.  This comes despite Congressional action zeroing out funding for the reliable replacement warhead, a new nuclear weapon, associated with the $150 million nuclear complex.

Recent polls by World Public Opinion show 79% of the American people want to see the U.S. government do more to eliminate nuclear weapons.  Peace Action is among 68 other groups engaging the public to use this comment period to support nuclear abolition and U.S. compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 

Across the nation, Peace Action Affiliates will hold community meetings to discuss the project and collect comments for the DOE.  Peace Action supporters in California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas will present their opinions at DOE hearings in those states.  The Peace Action online campaign is expected to reach over 100,000 nuclear abolition activists.

“Tens of thousands of Americans will write the Department of Energy in the next three months to tell them that they refuse to have nuclear weapons built in their backyard.  Instead it is time to dismantle nuclear weapons rather than build new ones,” claimed Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action’s political director.

The comment campaign will continue through the appointed 90 day period culminating in a final hearing in Washington, DC at which Peace Action’s national office will issue a statement on behalf of the network.  The statement will call for the U.S. government to: stop the Complex Transformation project, increase dedication to nuclear abolition, and invest resources into nuclear cleanup and renewable energy programs.

BACKGROUND

• The Nuclear Complex to be transformed is made up of facilities scattered across the country at 8 major locations with missions as diverse as laboratory work, explosives testing, and nuclear weapons component manufacturing. 
• Complex Transformation would include a major new facility—the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) at Los Alamos National Lab—to build 50-80 warhead cores (plutonium “pits”) per year, violating the spirit of U.S. commitments to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Article 6 which encourages disarmament.
• The 2007 JASON pit lifetime study confirmed that existing pits could last 100 years or more making the Complex Transformation project an unnecessary expense for an indebted Federal Government.
• Legislative and Executive branches of the U.S. government have yet to complete mandated nuclear policy reviews necessary to assess how the U.S. should move into the future regarding nuclear weapons.
• Increased production of plutonium pits, through Complex Transformation, will lead to increased risk to national security, public health, and the environment.
• Expanding our current nuclear weapons program sends the wrong message to other Nations, like North Korea, with whom we are negotiating over nuclear disarmament.

 

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Fighting Terrorism at Home & Abroad

When we talk about “Real Security through International Cooperation and the Funding of Human Needs” it is sometimes hard to understand what that means in terms of our daily lives. 

On my way home I often pass a family saying hello and usually exchanging brief pleasantries. Normally, the father and sometimes the mother sit on the front stoop watching the baby play.  Last night, however, as I rounded the corner something was very different.  All the contents of their house had been dumped haphazardly onto the sidewalk; they were not sitting on the porch but rather on the street near their clothes.  They had been “put out of their house.”  They could not make the rent for this month and so this family of three (with a toddler) was homeless, sitting in the dark and cold with no place to go.  They had left that morning for work and daycare with a small sense of security, only to arrive that night vulnerable and in genuine danger.  How is it, in the richest democracy in the world, we can put a family out?  

My neighborhood is known for gang activity.  I myself, have witnessed 3 shootings; none of which, thankfully, resulted in death or injury; but they were scary. I can’t imagine being a toddler on the street hearing those booming noises echo only feet away from me.  I have lots of Libertarian friends who don’t believe the government could solve these problems even if it did have a billion dollars.  I might agree if we ever had a chance to test the theory.  The money spent on militarism represents more than 70% of our Federal budget.  The money for social programs is less than 5%.  Where are our priorities?  Why have we, for decades, chosen bombs over people?

Again, I turn to my Libertarian friends who claim the ONLY function of a Federal government is the protection of national boarders from foreign invaders.  I would like to see a more comprehensive idea of ‘foreign invaders.’ I think hunger and frost bite should be counted among the terrorists affecting our world.

It strikes me that these terrorists are potently killing people all over the world on a daily basis – and U.S. investment in militarism only compounds the problem.  I lived in Kosova for a time about a year ago.  The people there are so grateful to the U.S. for ending the genocide perpetuated by Milosevic.  They have a picture of Bill Clinton or Gen. Wesley Clark on nearly every street; including a giant mural on Bill Clinton bvld in downtown Prishtina.  Of course there is another side to this gratitude.  On Bill Clinton blvd there are still apartment buildings bombed out from U.S. strikes in 1999.  People are still living in homes exposed to the elements with no water or electricity.  The unemployment rate is staggering and the thousands of ‘missing’ are still unaccounted for.  The political status of Kosova is still in flux between a Serbian territory and an independent state.  Neither Europe nor the U.S. has invested enough money and time into the rebuilding of Kosova.  We saved them from genocide and then condemned them to poverty through our inaction. 

There is a similar story happening all over the world:  in Ethiopia & Eutria; in Pakistan & Afghanistan; in Burma & S. Korea; in Sudan, in Sri Lanka, in Palestine, in Columbia, in Morocco, in every continent.   Real security, internationally, means investing in the health and well being of all humans; knowing that persons whose security needs are met will never strap a bomb to their back and then board a train.

Terrorism, both the Islamic kind and the gang kind, can only be stopped by meeting our human needs as a global community.  The U.S. is in a unique position to take leadership in this endeavor, and we have historically.  Although now contentious, the IMF and World Bank served their original purpose after WWII.  The funding provided by these international organizations rebuilt Europe after the devastation and renewed the historic cities to their former glory.  We have lost the philanthropy which launched us into a global super power.  Now we face our challenges with bombs and empty promises.  Ours is a path of destruction and destitution.  We must regain our conscious and expand our sense of community if we are ever to realize a peaceful world.

Iraq & Afghanistan Toll

Those who died in Iraq from Aug 26 to Sep 1:

Cpl Matthew Medlicott  21  Houston TX

Cpl Rogelio Ramirez  21  Pasadena CA

Spc Tracy Willis  21  Marshall TX

Sgt Joshua Morley  22  Boise ID

Sgt James Collins Jr  35  Rochester Hills MI

Cap Erick Foster  29  Wexford PA

Cpl John Tanner  21  Columbus GA

Spc Edward Brooks  25  Dayton OH

Sgt Andrew Nelson  22  Moorhead MN

Pvt Justin Sanders  22  Watson LA

Spc Travis Virgadamo  19  Las Vegas NV

Sgt Jason Butkus  34  West Milford NJ

Sgt Daniel Scheibner  40  Muskegon MI

89 were seriously wounded and maimed.

67 were returned to kill fields.

306 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed.

To date 81 US troops have been killed in

Afghanistan this year.

61 women have been killed by hostile fire

in Iraq since March 2003.

Cf:   icasualties.org

March 2003 .

Iraq Toll

Those who died in Iraq from Aug 12 to 18:

Sgt Alicia Birchett  29  Mashpee MA

Sgt Andrew Lancaster  23  Stocton IL

Sgt Scot Kirkpatrick  26  Reston VA

Sgt William Scates  31  Oklahoma City OK

Spc Alun Howells  20  Parlin CO

Pvt Paulomarko Pacificador  24  Shirley NY

Pvt Juan Lopez Jr  23  San Antonio TX

Sgt Eric Cottrell  39  Pittsview AL

Pvt Shawn Henzel  20  Logansport IN

Spc Stephen Jewell  26  Bridgeton NC

Sgt Stanley Reynolds  37  Rock WV

Sgt Sean Fisher  29  Santee CA

CWO Jackie McFarlane Jr  30  Virginia Beach VA

CW Christopher Johnson  31  Grand Rapids MI

Spc Zandra Walker  28  Greenville SC

Sgt Princess Samuels  22  Mitchellville MD

Sgt Robert Pirelli  29  Franklin MA

Spc Kamisha Block  20  Vidor TX

Sgt Paul Norris  30  Cullman TX

Pvt Willard Kerchief III  21  Evansville IN

Ltn Jonathan Edds  24  White Pigeon MI

30 were seriously wounded and maimed.

100 were retuned to kill fields.

626 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed.

The Shift - a trailer that gave me chills

Iraq toll

Those who died in Iraq from Aug 5 to 11:

Spc Daniel Reyes 25 SanDiego CA

Sgt Bradley Marshall 37 Little Rock AR

Spc Charles Leonard Jr 29 Monroe LA

Sgt Joey Link 29 Portland TN

Spc Justin Blackwell 27 Paris TN

Pvt Jeremy Bohannon 18 Bon Aqua TN

Spc Kareem Khan 20 Manahawkin NJ

Cpl Juan Alcantara 22 New York

Sgt Nicholas Gummersall 23 Chubbuck ID

Sgt Jacob Thompson 26 No Mankato MN

Spc Christopher Neiberger 22 Gainesville FL

Pvt Craig Barber 20 Ogmore Vale UK

Sgt Jon Bonnell Jr 22 Fort Dodge IA

Air Martin Beard 20 Rainworth UK

Cpl Reynold Armand 21 Rochester NY

Spc Donald Young Helena MT

Sgt Michael Tayaotao 27 Sunnyvale CA

Cpl Chris Casey 27 London UK

Cpl Kirk Redbath 22 Romford UK

Sgt Joan Duran 24 Roxbury MA

Pvt William Edwards 23 Houston TX

Spc Justin Penrod 24 Danville IL

87 were seriously wounded and maimed.

88 wounded were returned to killing fields.

420 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed.

Cf: www.icasualties.org

Room for Diplomacy in Iran - from the Washington Post

The Washington Post printed a Peace Action West letter in response to last week’s article about the “failure” of diplomacy with Iran:

Room for Diplomacy on Iran

Regarding the Aug. 9 news story “In the Debate Over Iran, More Calls for a Tougher U.S. Stance”:

The article’s reference to the “failure of carrot-and-stick diplomacy to block Tehran’s nuclear and regional ambitions” falsely implied that the Bush administration has pursued and exhausted constructive diplomatic options with Iran. A serious diplomatic effort would involve talking directly with the Iranian government without preconditions, which this administration has refused to do. The administration also undermines the ability to engage in productive dialogue through hostile rhetoric and saber-rattling.

It is clear that military action against Iran would be disastrous and that it would probably accelerate any attempts by the Iranian government to pursue nuclear technology. It should also be clear that pragmatic, sustained diplomatic efforts have succeeded in the past and are our only hope for resolving tensions with Iran.

REBECCA GRIFFIN

Political Director

Peace Action West

Wrestling with Modern Imperialism

“All I know is that you have participated directly or indirectly in the crime.”
Why is Half of Iraq in Absolute Poverty? By: Layla Anwar

This is a line from an article written by an Iraqi woman named Layla Anwar. The crime she is referring to is, of course, the U.S. occupation of Iraq. She talks about the crimes of apathy and arrogance on the part of Westerners who want to ‘save’ the ‘those people’. This is arrogance is a part of all of our foreign policy - especially in international aid to the supposed ‘third world’, or the global south including the Americas, Africa, and Southern Asia.  She talks about the lack of direct action on the part U.S. citizens to stop war before it began. Of course, she talks about the ramifications of our ‘democracy building’ in Iraq – of how many are starving, are displace, are scarred for life. I found myself torn between my occupation advancing peace ideologies and my education in international development. My life is focused on all the things she condemns and yet I feel my work is important.

Then I remember what drove me to be a part of the peace movement in the first place. I was in Kosovo (Kosova for those in the know) and I worked with a local group, the Kosova Womens Network, deeply entrenched in the feminist movement during the Serbian occupation and today. In my work there I came into contact with the Women in Black from Serbia. They told me their stories of standing in front the Belgrade government buildings asking “how can we talk about democracy in our country while we squash it abroad.” These stories affected me in so many ways. Regardless of the imminent danger they were in; regardless of the stigma and harassment they faced – they stood in solidarity against violence meted out in their names. That is why I joined the peace movement.

And yet, in my inbox today was a recently released study on the ‘progress’ we’ve made in Iraq. According to this study by the University of Michigan, Iraqis are becoming more nationalistic and secular in their government. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? Is it my place to say one way or another? Certainly it is not my place to make judgments on what is good or bad for Iraq.

It is only my place to emphatically say it is our job as U.S. citizens to expose the crimes of our government. It is my duty to be uncomfortable in acknowledging that the lifestyle I lead is directly related to this war. The same is true for you who are reading this. Every time we turn on our AC, drive the children to work, eat fresh citrus from Mexico, and drink water out of bottles we contribute to the deaths of millions across the world through our modern imperialism.

We live in a system, a globalized system, created hundreds of years ago when the first colonialists boarded their ships to explore and dominate for gold, God, and glory. We perpetuate this system with ‘development programs’, ‘international aid’, and ‘democracy building’. War is not the only way we destroy the culture and infrastructure of other states. The only way to uproot this system is to challenge our idea of what is ‘progress’, ‘democracy’, ‘wealth’, ‘education’, and ‘power’. I challenge you, as peacemongers, to do so in your daily lives. I promise you to take that challenge with you. I bid you peace to do the good work I know you want to do.

Presidential Canidates Callus on Nuclear Question

Barack Obama’s statement, last Thursday, that he would not use nuclear weapons “in any circumstance” to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan and drew criticism from chief rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and accolades from anti-nuclear activists.
It appears Sen. Obama is the only leading Presidential candidate who is willing to consider the multifaceted implications of a foreign policy where ‘all options’ are on the table.

During the Cold War the U.S. public was intimately aware of the threat nuclear war posed to the country and the world. While the bombs have become more powerful the country has become more complacent about our leaders threatening their use. It is a shame that in all the rhetoric condemning or applauding Obama’s statement no one has questioned the destructive position of Clinton and the other candidates.

Nuclear weapons are never an acceptable form of force, but especially in this circumstance would be devastating to our world and to our national security – moreover, they would be ineffectual in their purpose.

Nuclear weapons cannot weed terrorists out of the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Nuclear weapons are designed to decimate a region or country – they have no purpose but to kill civilians for years after the initial explosion with cancer and birth defects. By definition, their use is in itself is a terrorist act because they so specifically target civilians. Our threats of a ‘nuclear option’ only further inflame a difficult diplomatic situation in the Middle East and radicalize new terrorist recruits.

Those candidates who would not take the nuclear option off the table are callus and arrogant – preferring to placate to the minority of the country who support the Bush administration than to stand up for a new direction in U.S. foreign policy. They are
naïve for believing the nuclear option should ever be on the table.

Iraq Toll

Those who died in Iraq from Jul 29 to Aug 4:

 

Pvt Cody Grater 20 Spring Hill FL

Sgt Wilberto Suliveras 38 Humacao PR

Sgt Jack Richards 39 Oklahoma

Cpl Sean Stokes 24 Auburn CA

Cpl Jason Kessler 29 Vernon WA

Pvt Alfred Jairala 29 Hialeah FL

Pvt Charles Heinlein Jr 23 Hemlock MI

Spc Zachariah Gonzalez 23 Indiana

Sgt Stephen Maddies 41 Elizabethton TN

Cpl Steve Edwards 35 Sutton UK

Sgt Travis Bachman 30 Garden City KS

Sgt Julian Rios 52 Anasco PR

Sgt Eric Salinas 25 Houston TX

Spc Christian Rojas Gallego 24 Loganville GA

Sgt Fernando Santos 29 San Antonio TX

Cpl Christian Vasquez 20 Coalinga CA

Pvt Mtthew Murchison 21 Independence MO

Spc Bradon Long 19 Sherman TX

Pvt Jaron Holliday 21 Tulsa OK

Cpl Jason Lafleur 28 Ignacio CO

Sgt Dustin Wakeman 25 Ft Worth TX

65 were seriously wounded.

86 wounded were returned to occupation.

480 Iraqi sisters and brothers were killed