Nuclearism

Remissvar om Lars-Erik Lundins utredning avgivet av Fredsrörelsen på Orust 24:e april 2019 Inledning Under läsningen av utredningens 215 sidor framtonar några grundläggande drag i den världsbild och den begreppsapparat som utredaren utgår ifrån och använder. Ingen öppen redovisning eller definition görs av dessa grundläggande drag i utredningen och dess slutsatser. Här följer ett representativt urval av begrepp som de kan förstås i utredningen. (Video med Lars-Erik Lundins presentation av utredningen). Säkerhet ett ord för trygghet i världen och frånvaro av osäkerhet för Sverige. (sid 69) Säkerhetspolitik utgörs av militära rustningar och samarbete med militäralliansen Nato och dess kärnvapenparaply (sid 24) Samarbete innebär verksamhet, avtal och militär utveckling tillsammans med Nato. (sid 69 och 153 Exempel: ”Rysslands ökade aggressivitet understryker vikten av samarbete”.) Försvar utgörs av militär styrka (överallt där ordet används) Avskräckning är målet för säkerhets- och försvarspolitik riktad mot Ryssland. Trovärdigt hot om användning av kärnvapen ingår. (sid...

By us-russia.org April 18, 2019 The Sunday, February 24 edition of Russian state television’s flagship program News of the Week with Dmitry Kiselyov provided a detailed description of the “mirror like” response that Russia will take to any US installations of land based cruise missiles directed against Moscow following termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty. Originally published at us-russia.org The scenario focused on the new hypersonic Zircon missile system which can be launched from existing Russian submarines carrying the “normal” Tomahawk-like cruise missiles called Kalibr and which were used successfully in the recent operations against ISIL in Syria. We were told that the Russians are prepared to station such submarines holding 40 Zircons each just outside the territorial waters of the US economic zone, at perhaps 250 miles from the American East and West coasts. That would give them a 5 minute flight time to precision attack all...

The most stunning and frightening truth about the nuclear age is this: Nuclear weapons are capable of destroying civilization and most complex life on the planet, yet next to nothing is being done about it. Humanity is flirting with extinction and is experiencing the “frog’s malaise.” It is as though the human species has been placed into a pot of tepid water — metaphorically with regard to nuclear dangers and literally with regard to climate change — and appears to be calmly treading water while the temperature rises toward the boiling point. In this piece, I focus on the metaphorical pot of heating water, heading toward a boil, representing the increasing nuclear dangers confronting all humanity.  Disconcertingly, there is virtually no political will on the part of nations in possession of nuclear arsenals to alter this dangerous situation; and, despite legal obligations to negotiate in good faith for an end...

Peace can never be achieved this way a) The issue is about peace, not only nuclear weapons. The US has not been willing to sign a peace agreement after all these years. After some kind of peace process and treaty has been achieved, you can turn to the specific issue of nuclear weapons. b) Making peace takes time, thorough preparations, lots of different expertise, long consultations and only face-to-face meetings when all are sure that, when the parties finally meet at top level, some kind of deal will be signed. c) This would have been an issue for the UN if it were respected and used fairly by member states around the world. Naive and egotist people believe they can do miracles without the institutions of the international system. Probably Trump and Kim are in the same category believing that they are all capable and great guys of history (worthy...

The number of nuclear weapons possessed by the US and Russia is a fraction of what it was during the height of the Cold War. Successive presidents on both sides, since the time of John F.  Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, have feared their destructive power. Their supposed value, so called Mutually Assured Destruction, known by its capitals, MAD, is in fact valueless. They cannot be used, and nearly everyone accepts that. Yet they continue to exist and, as President Mikhail Gorbachev and his ally in nuclear arms control, President Ronald Reagan, both said, there  is the fear of a false alarm or two errant officers in the silo entering simultaneously their keys which allows the firing  of the rocket. Yet here we are in 2019 with a new American nuclear initiative just announced last weekend. (I doubt that president Donald Trump is in the clutches of Russia. Otherwise, why would...

Press Release at the bottom An Open Letter on the INF & START treaties, nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament measures to preserve peace and achieve sustainable securityAdopted in Basel, Switzerland on January 15, 2019. To: Donald Trump, President of the United StatesVladimir Putin, President of the Russian FederationJens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATOMiroslav Lajčák, Chair of the OSCEFederica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Security and Foreign AffairsEliot Engel, Chair of the US House Foreign Affairs CommitteeAdam Smith, Chair of the House Armed Services CommitteeJames Inhofe, Chair of the US Senate Armed Services CommitteeJames Risch, Chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Leonid Slutsky, Chair of the Russian Duma Committee on Foreign AffairsVladimir Shamanov, Chair of the Russian Duma Committee on DefenceKonstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Viktor Bondarev, Chair of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security CC: Xi Jinping, President of ChinaTheresa May, Prime...

  Reacting to the radio interview by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to mark Armistice Day, in which he was reported as saying, “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America… We need a true European army”, President Donald Trump blew a fuse. He tweeted: “President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting.” In fact Trump’s reaction was based on reading a false report of what Macron said. In that part of the interview he was talking about cyber attacks. Nevertheless, Macron was indeed angrily critical of Trump: “When I see President Trump announcing that he’s quitting a major disarmament treaty which was formed after the 1980s Euro-missile crisis that hit Europe, who is the main victim? Europe and its security”. The treaty...

By David Krieger Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, NAPF August 2018 Nuclear weapons pose a grave threat to the future of civilization. As long as we allow these weapons to exist, we flirt with the catastrophe that they will be used, whether intentionally or accidentally. Meanwhile, nuclear weapons skew social priorities, create imbalances of power, and heighten geopolitical tension. Diplomacy has brought some noteworthy steps in curbing risks and proliferation, but progress has been uneven and tenuous. The ultimate aim of abolishing these weapons from the face of the earth—the “zero option”—faces formidable challenges of ignorance, apathy, and fatigue. Yet, the total abolition of nuclear weapons is essential for a Great Transition to a future rooted in respect for life, global solidarity, and ecological resilience. This will require an emboldened disarmament movement working synergistically with kindred movements, such as those fighting for peace, environmental sustainability, and economic justice, in pursuit of...

    By Jan Oberg August 9, 2018 Let’s not use these days as if they were only history. These two cities do have museum that everyone on earth should visit – but the issue is not history. It’s is reality today, 73 years later. While we must commemorate the victims and the destruction and never forget – because it must never happen again – the perspective must be updated. This what this short video is about – and it also signals that TFF will do more videos as part of its educational and outreach work. We’re grateful if you share!    

  By Gunnar Westberg TFF Board member June 24, 2018     • At last, the leader of North Korea, DPRK, has been “allowed” to meet in person with the US president! Since the time of the grandfather of the present leader of North Korean leader that country has had three major objectives in its foreign policy: 1. A peace agreement; 2. A recognition of the leader of the country with respect, or, concretely, a meeting with the US president; 3. Guarantees of peace and security. In recent years there is also a demand for a nuclear weapons-free Korean peninsula. These demands were repeated to us at our two visits to to Pyongyang, DPRK, as representatives of IPPNW, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and in discussions with North Korean representatives when we have met them in other countries. • • In 1972 President Nixon went to Beijing....

    Comment “We deeply regret the re-imposition of sanctions by the US, due to the latter’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)” – say High Representative Federica Mogherini and Foreign Ministers of E3 (Jean-Yves Le Drian of France, Heiko Maas of Germany, Jeremy Hunt of the United Kingdom). That’s an important statement. But more is needed. While the EU needs to protect its member states against US attempts to bully and punish everyone who from today deals with Iran, it needs to step up all kinds of co-operation with Iran and be ready to endure whatever conflicts with the U.S. this may entail. The future of the EU is at stake. No less. Also – says Oberg – it is peculiar that the US has chosen August 6, Hiroshima Day, to re-impose its sanctions on Iran in the wake of its decision to withdraw from the...

  • Iran’s foreign minister says the US is addicted to imposing sanctions on other countries but the Iranian nation, through its unity and resistance, can force Washington to give up such habit. The comments by Mohammad Javad Zarif come as the US is set to restore sanctions on Iran after pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May. Zarif said the world has also come to the understanding that Washington needs to stop using sanctions to pressurize others. He said the US economic pressure has been unable to hamper Iran’s progress in the past and that the new sanctions would prove futile as well. The top diplomat urged the Iranian people to stand united in the face of the United States in order to preserve the country’s dignity. I was asked to comment on Zavad Zarif’s statement and added that it could be seen as the start of...