THE SUNFLOWER
Online monthly newsletter of the
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
January 2003 (No. 68)
The Sunflower is a monthly e-newsletter providing educational information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to global security. We encourage you to forward the Sunflower to friends or refer them http://www.wagingpeace.org/sf/.html for current and previous issues.
I N T H I S I S S U E
PERSPECTIVE
TAKE ACTION
DISARMAMENT
PROLIFERATION
MISSILES & MISSILE DEFENSE
NUCLEAR WASTE
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR HISTORY
FOUNDATION NEWS
RESOURCES
QUOTABLE
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PERSPECTIVE
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Security in the Post 9/11 World
By David Krieger
The Bush administration’s approach to security in the post 9/11 world is built on military strength, and is composed of the following elements: increased military expenditures, the pursuit of global military dominance, indefinite reliance on nuclear weapons, the development and deployment of missile defenses and the threat to initiate preemptive wars in the name of security. There was a time, when nations fought nations and armies battled against armies, when this strategy might arguably have been relevant, but in the post 9/11 world it is a dysfunctional strategy that is certain to fail.
(For full article go to: http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/...er_post911.htm)
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TAKE ACTION
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Tell the Bush Administration We Can Win Without War
Join Matt Damon, Michael Stipe, Gillian Anderson, Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Susan Sarandon, Helen Hunt, Samuel L. Jackson, Martin Sheen and a whole host of other artists and public figures, in signing onto the following statement asking the Bush Administration to win without war on Iraq.
"War talk in Washington is alarming and unnecessary.
"We are patriotic Americans who share the belief that Saddam Hussein cannot be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. We support rigorous UN weapons inspections to assure Iraq's effective disarmament.
"However, a pre-emptive military invasion of Iraq will harm American national interests. Such a war will increase human suffering, arouse animosity toward our country, increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, damage the economy, and undermine our moral standing in the world. It will make us less, not more, secure.
"We reject the doctrine--a reversal of long-held American tradition--that our country, alone, has the right to launch first-strike attacks.
"The valid U.S. and UN objective of disarming Saddam Hussein can be achieved through legal diplomatic means. There is no need for war. Let us instead devote our resources to improving the security and well-being of people here at home and around the world."
Sign onto this statement in a minute or two at:
http://www.moveon.org/artistswinwithoutwar/
Join the Worldwide Peace Marches Planned for January 18th
To celebrate Dr. King's legacy of nonviolent resistance, join activists around the world and participate in protests against war and racism the weekend of January 18. Take this opportunity to voice your opposition to war against Iraq. Martin Luther King Jr. spent the last year before his assassination linking the mass movements for civil rights with the growing opposition to the U.S. war in Vietnam. In his speech on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church, Dr. King came to the conclusion that the "greatest purveyor of violence on the planet is my own government." As Jan. 16-17 will also be the 11th anniversary of the start of the Gulf War, the weekend of the 18th is the perfect time to voice your opposition to war against Iraq. For more information see http://www.wagingpeace.org/new/getinvolved/index.htm.
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DISARMAMENT
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Iraq Submits Declaration, Inspections Continue
Iraq submitted a 12,000 page declaration of its weapons program on 7 December in compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolution 1441. The International Atomic Energy Agency has asserted that the documents submitted contain nothing new in comparison to Iraq’s 1998 statements to UN weapons inspectors. U.S. officials allege that the documents are incomplete and that the omissions could be considered a "material breach" of the UN resolution, but have stopped short of calling the document a trigger for war.
The Iraqi report does list 150 foreign companies, including some from the United States, Britain, Germany and France that supported Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction program—a list that British officials have said appeared to be accurate. Eighty German firms and 24 U.S. companies are reported to have supplied Iraq with equipment and know-how for its weapons programs from 1975 onwards. In some cases support for Baghdad's conventional arms program had continued until last year.
UN senior weapons inspector Mr. Hans Blix is expected to give the Security Council a report on the progress of the inspections and the accuracy of the Iraqi declaration on 27 January. UN weapons inspections in Iraq have thus far met little resistance, and reports of the inspectors’ progress seem to indicate that they have found little evidence of continuing weapons of mass destruction programs in Iraq. Officials leading the inspection teams have estimated that their work could take up to a year to complete.
(sources: Reuters, 19 December 2002; The Independent (UK), 18 December 2002;
New York Times, 13 December 2002; Washington Post, 12 December 2002)
Russian-U.S. Arms Treaty Ratification Process May Face Obstacles
In the continuing process of moving towards ratification, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), signed by Putin and President Bush in May, to the Russian Duma on 7 December. As ratification consideration began, Andrei Nikolayev, head of the Duma’s Defense Committee, said that he would propose certain amendments that would allow Russia to withdraw from the agreement should “exceptional circumstance” threaten its national security. Such circumstances could include U.S. violations of the treaty, U.S. deployment of a missile defense system, the buildup of nuclear weapons in other countries, or deployment of nuclear weapons in NATO member countries. Nikolayev’s proposal may further weaken the treaty that currently mandates only minimal, reversible disarmament obligations with no means of verifying compliance. The Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman, Dmitriy Rogozin, has stated that most of the SORT ratification process in Russia should be completed in 2003.
In the United States, Senator Richard Lugar, incoming Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has made ratification of SORT a priority in the upcoming session. Lugar hopes to deliver the treaty to the Senate Floor for debate soon after Secretary of State Colin Powell testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations hearing in mid-January, although other political issues may slow progress on the issue.
(sources: Itar-Tass, 18 December 2002; APF, 7 December 2002; Global Security Newswire, 16 December 2002)
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PROLIFERATION
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North Korea Restarts Nuclear Facilities
and Threatens Treaty Withdrawal
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that North Korea had moved fresh fuel to a nuclear power plant in Yongbyon with plans of restarting the reactor. North Korea broke most of the IAEA seals and disabled monitoring equipment at all four nuclear facilities at Yongbyon. North Korea additionally ordered the expulsion of IAEA weapons inspectors and announced that it was going to reactivate a facility capable of extracting weapons-grade plutonium from spent fuel rods. North Korea possesses some 8,000 spent fuel rods containing enough plutonium to create an estimated four to five nuclear weapons. On 1 January, North Korea threatened to withdraw from the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty stating that the current conflict could be solved only through direct negotiations with the United States.
The US response to Pyongyang’s activities has been mixed, with little indication that Washington is committed to either taking military action or negotiating a solution with North Korea. Earlier this month Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld warned that North Korea should not assume that the U.S. will not take military action simply because of its preparations for war with Iraq, because the U.S. is capable of fighting two major regional conflicts at once. However, days later Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that the Bush administration was, in fact, seeking communication, though not negotiations, with North Korea and was not contemplating military action. Powell’s comments followed a statement by Senator Richard Lugar, soon-to-be Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that, “our strategy now has to be one of multilateral engagement.”
Events this month in South Korea, including the election of a president who favors engagement with North Korea, Mr. Roh Moo Hyun, and increasing public hostility towards U.S. military, may complicate any US response to North Korea’s weapons program.
(sources: New York Times, 30 December 2002; Associated Press 27 December 2002; London Daily Telegraph, 27 December 2002; Washington Post, 30 December 2002 and 1 January 2003)
Russia Likely to Lease Nuclear Sub to India
Reports from a summit between Russian President Vladamir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee in the first week in December indicate that negotiations are moving forward for India to lease at least one Russian-made Akula-11 class nuclear-powered submarine, capable of carrying a payload of nuclear cruise missiles. Though the head of India’s navy, Admiral Madhvendra Sing, refused to confirm or deny assertions concerning the possible lease, the reports have generated concern regarding nuclear instability and proliferation in South East Asia.
Prior to the summit, Russia also announced its intention to allow India to become an associated member of the United Nuclear Research Institute, one of the top nuclear research institute’s in Russia. The institute was established as a joint nuclear research institute for the Eastern Bloc countries, and nearly half of all Russian nuclear advances occurred at the Institute. India was previously denied access to its facilities because it is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a factor that appears to be of decreasing concern to the Russian government.
(sources: The Independent (UK), 5 December 2002; Associated Press, 7 December 2002; Moscow Times, 3 December 2003; Outlook india.com, 1 December 2002)
Nuclear Facilities in Iran Heighten Proliferation Concerns
Releasing satellite photographs of the construction of two nuclear facilities that had been officially declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency in August, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher accused Iran of actively working on a nuclear weapons program. Iran has refuted Washington’s claims insisting that it is constructing the facilities only for power producing purposes.
The facilities referred to by Boucher on 13 December, appear to be a heavy water nuclear plant and a uranium enrichment facility that have the potential to contribute to development of plutonium and uranium-based weapons, respectively.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to visit these facilities, which are permitted under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, on 25 February. The inspections are meant to insure that none of the declared nuclear materials are diverted for nuclear weapons purposes.
On 25 December, Iran and Russia also signed an agreement to speed up the completion of the highly controversial light water nuclear reactors at Bushehr. Under the agreement, Russia will supply nuclear fuel for the reactor and remove it, meaning that material from spent fuel rods should not be available to Iran for weapons purposes. According to the IAEA, the first reactor at Bushehr is expected to be operational by July 2003.
(source: Associated Press, 12 December 2002 and 18 December 2002; New York Times, 26 December 2002, 16 December 2002 and 11 December 2002; BBC, 14 December; Financial Times (UK) 21 December 2002)
Bush Issues New Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction
On 11 December the Bush administration sent a six-page strategy to the U.S. Congress that threatens overwhelming retaliation — implying the use of nuclear weapons — in response to a WMD attack, in an effort to persuade potential adversaries to refrain from unleashing chemical or biological weapons against the United States or its allies. Though the United States has reserved the right to use nuclear weapons in response to a chemical or biological attack in the past, the new document takes a strong stance by publicly advocating for such a response. The document also calls for the development of new military and civilian capabilities to defeat WMD-armed adversaries, the strengthening of nonproliferation treaties and arms control regimes, and preparations to reduce the potentially catastrophic consequences of a successful WMD attack against the United States or its allies.
(sources: Global Security Newswire, 13 December 2002; CNN, 11 December 2002)
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MISSILES & MISSILE DEFENSE
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US Missile Defense Deployment and
Space-Based Test Bed Construction in 2004
On 17 December, the Bush administration announced that the President has directed the Secretary of Defense to proceed with fielding an initial set of missile defense capabilities in 2004. The announcement has provoked much criticism, domestically and internationally, concerning the lack of reliability of the missile defense system, the increased amount of funds necessary for this rushed deployment to occur and the destabilizing effects of the system on the international community. International and domestic opposition, however, seem unlikely to be strong enough to prevent the planned deployment from occurring.
The administration is expected to seek an extra $1.5 billion over the next two years to finance the deployment, on top of the projected $16 billion missile defense budget. According to military officials, the initial capabilities will likely include ground-based interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, Aegis warship-based missiles and possibly ground-base interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force base in California. The system is also likely to include radar systems based in Great Britain, most likely at Fylingdales, and Greenland at Thule Air Base.
Senior Missile Defense Agency officials also announced that starting in 2004 they will pursue a space-based interceptor test bed. Pursuing such weapons in space has been an incredibly controversial issue and has generally been opposed by U.S. allies, many of whom have called for a ban on space weaponization.
(sources: Defense Daily, 20 December 2002; Boston Globe, 19 December 2002; Aerospace Daily, 19 December 2002; Washington Post, 18 December 2002)
U.S. Missile Defense Test Fails
An interceptor rocket meant to strike and destroy a ballistic missile as part of an $80 million test failed to separate from its booster rocket, missed its target by hundreds of miles and burned up in the atmosphere on 11 December. The failure came weeks before the Bush administration announced that it was planning to deploy a limited missile defense system in 2004.
The interceptor, launched from Ronald Reagan Missile Test Facility in the Marshall Islands, was meant to destroy a modified Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile that was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base and splashed down in the ocean upon the test’s failure.
(sources: Washington Post, 12 December 2002; CNN, 11 December 2002; Associated Press, 11 December 2002)
Judge Rebuffs ABM Treaty Case Brought by Congress
On 30 December, U.S. District Judge John Bates ruled that 32 members of the U.S. Congress have no standing to challenge President George W. Bush’s withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in court. The suit, brought last June, was led by Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who asserted that President George W. Bush's decision to withdraw from the ABM Treaty to pursue a vigorous missile defense program was unconstitutional. The claimants will have to decide next week whether to appeal the federal judge’s ruling in a higher court, according to one of the attorneys on the case. For more information see www.lcnp.org.
(source: The Australian, 31 December 2002)
North Korean Scuds Bound for Yemen Temporarily Detained
On 10 December, a North Korean cargo ship carrying 15 scud missiles apparently en route to Yemen was halted by two Spanish warships and boarded by U.S. authorities. After high level contact between Yemen and U.S. officials, the U.S. Navy released the freighter allowing it to continue its journey with the missiles to Yemen.
U.S. intelligence officials had been watching the cargo ship for weeks as part of an interdiction operation of the war on terrorism. Yemen already possesses an estimated 18 Scud-B missiles, and there is some question as to whether Yemen was truly the intended procurer of the North Korean Scuds.
The administration stated that the detention was supposed to send a strong message to proliferators, but the incident may have done more to highlight Washington’s failure to successfully prevent North Korean proliferation efforts.
(sources: Associate Press, 12 December 2002; New York Times, 11 December 2002; Associated Press, 11 December 2002)
Israel Claims First Successful Test of Missile Defense System
On 5 January, Israel carried out its first successful, though largely simulated, test of the Arrow missile defense system off of Israel’s Mediterranean coast, according to Arieh Hertzog, director of Israel’s missile defense program. The test was carried out in preparation for an expected U.S. war with Iraq. Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and there is growing concern that Iraq may launch missiles armed with biological or chemical weapons if a full U.S. invasion is launched as anticipated.
(source: New York Times, 6 January 2003)
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NUCLEAR WASTE
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Russia Scraps Novaya Zemlya Repository Plan
After over a decade of research into Novaya Zemlya as a possible sight of a low and medium radioactive waste repository, Russian officials have decided not to pursue the repository. Aleksandr Rumyantsey, Russia’s Minister for Nuclear Energy, announced on 6 December that Novaya Zemlya is not geographically suitable for the repository and that the project is economically unfeasible. In considering why these long foreseen flaws in Novaya Zemlya are only now becoming a deciding factor in abandoning the project, the Bellona Foundation has suggested that Russian officials may be looking to reserve Novaya Zemlya for possible resumption of nuclear testing. The need to preserve the ability to resume nuclear weapon testing may be in response to recent moves by U.S. officials to increase U.S. test readiness. Possible alternative locations for the repository include the Kola Peninsula in north-west Russia.
(source: Bellona, 29 November 2002)
UK Plant Halts Emissions but May Dump More Nuclear Waste in 2006
British authorities announced on 11 December that they would halt technetium emissions from its Sellafield reprocessing facility, given new processing technology that will allow for long-term on-land storage. However, the new technology cannot be applied to waste already stockpiled at Sellafield in storage tanks that have exceeded their expectant lifetimes. UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher stated that if research concerning on-land storage possibilities for the waste remaining at Sellafield was not successful by 2006, Britain may have to quickly dispose of the radioactive pollution into the Irish Sea. Norway and Ireland oppose the Sellafield plant and assert that the emissions are harmful, citing research that has shown traces of technetium in lobsters and other shellfish.
(sources: Reuters, 13 December 2002, Aftenposten, 12 December 2002)
US Feds Pave Way for Nuclear Waste Storage in Western Utah
In issuing two rulings, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has brought the construction of a facility to store high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants in Western Utah closer to reality, despite the persistent protests of the state of Utah. The NRC ruled on 15 December that it is not their place to determine the possible environmental impact of a terrorist attack on the proposed site and that it does, in fact, have the authority to license a private storage site for spent nuclear plant fuel. The Private Fuel Storage utility consortium and the Skull Valley Goshute Indians are seeking a license from the NRC to build a nuclear waste site on sovereign tribal lands. The site would reportedly consist of a 100-acre pad holding steel and concrete casks capable of holding all of the nuclear spent fuel generated in the first three decades of commercial nuclear power.
(source: The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 December 2002)
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NUCLEAR ENERGY
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Belgian Lower House Votes to Close Nuclear Power Plants by 2025
On 6 December, Belguim’s lower house of parliament voted to close down all nuclear reactors older than 40 years, meaning that all of Belgium’s seven reactors may have to cease operations between 2015 and 2025. The bill, which passed 80 to 49 with 5 abstentions, is expected to face a vote in the Belgian Senate in the coming months.
The Electrabel power company, which owns the reactors, has voiced its strong opposition to the bill.
(source: Associate Press, 6 December 2002)
Bulgaria Agrees to Close Nuclear Reactors
Bulgaria will begin the closure of the two oldest units at a nuclear power station at Kozloduy, despite strong protests from the nuclear lobby and opposition parties arguing that the reactors are economically necessary. Over the next four years, four out of six reactors at Kozloduy will be shut down as demanded by the European Union for Bulgaria’s EU accession talks to continue. Concerns about the reactors’ safety stems from the growing brittleness of the reactor vessels and the lack of containment structure to cope with a major accident should one occur.
(source: BBC, 20 December 2002)
Security Guards at US Nuclear Power Plant Doubt Security
The New York Times reported in early December that security officers at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, New York have serious concerns about the plant’s security. Only 19 percent of the security officers at Indian Point believed they could protect the plant from an attack, and many officers have stated that their bosses discouraged them from raising security concerns, according to a report released in early 2002 by the plant’s owners. In more recent interviews, guards told of minimal training, of other guards reporting for duty drunk, unrealistic security drills, and of out-of-shape guards forced to work 70 to 80 hours a week or more. The guards and the 2002 report referred repeatedly to often-broken electronic security equipment. The Indian Point plant is in the most densely populated area of any nuclear plant in the U.S., and lies in the flight path taken by one of the hijacked jets that struck the World Trade Center.
(source: New York Times, December 8, 2002)
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NUCLEAR HISTORY
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Nixon “Madman Theory” Alert Revealed in Declassified Documents
In late December, declassified documents published by the National Security Archives disclosed a worldwide secret nuclear alert Nixon and his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, stage-managed from 13 Oct. to 25 Oct., 1969. The alert consisted of a series of actions to ratchet up the readiness level of nuclear forces hoping to jar Soviet officials into pressing North Vietnam to meet U.S. terms in peace negotiations. The move caused no change in Soviet policy towards North Vietnam.
(source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January/February, National Security Archive, 23 December 2002)
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FOUNDATION NEWS
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Online Peace Education Database Now Available
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has recently compiled an easy-to-use database of peace studies programs across the country. The database is organized by state and includes information on institutions that offer undergraduate majors and minors, graduate degrees, and other certificates or programs in peace studies. To access the database go to http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/peaceedprograms.htm and click on the map to find a peace studies program near you!
New Book: Hope in a Dark Time, Reflections on Humanity’s Future
This new book, a collection of essays by leading visionaries, activists and peace-builders from throughout the world, is expected out in February 2003. Hope in a Dark Time is edited by David Krieger with a forward by Bishop Desmond Tutu and is published by Capra Press (www.caprapress.com).
New Book: The Poetry of Peace
The Foundation has produced a book of peace poetry containing inspiring verse by authors of various ages and nationalities. The book is a compilation of the first seven years of winning poems in the Foundation’s Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards, a yearly contest with awards in three age groups meant to encourage poets to explore and illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit. The book additionally contains poems by several of the contest judges. For more information on how to order the book, which is edited by David Krieger with a foreword by Terry Tempest Williams, and published by Capra Press, please see the Capra Press website at http://www.caprapress.com or telephone Capra at: (805) 892-2722.
Support the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Support the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation by making a tax-deductible contribution at https://www.ndic.com/wagingpeace/supportus.htm.
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RESOURCES
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Visit the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s recently updated Nuclear Files website. Visitors can now easily navigate the site, take a journey through the Nuclear Age and learn about key issues. The site also contains a section for educators with sample course syllabi that incorporates lessons from our nuclear history into the classroom. Visit the redesigned and user-friendly Nuclear Files at http://www.nuclearfiles.org
Visit the ever-evolving website of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at http://www.wagingpeace.org. We encourage you to check in frequently at the New Site link on the home page, the Activities Calendar, the Action Page and all the other great sections on the site.
The Kennedy Option: Pursuit of World Law, a new book by Joseph Albert Bagnall about the spread of nuclear weapons and the rapid deterioration of the environment is now available at: http://www.thekennedyoption.net
Biological Warfare and Disarmament: New Problems/New Perspectives, a new book edited by Susan Wright and published by Rowman & Littlfield Publishers, Inc. is available through: http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com.
"War with Iraq: Costs, Consequences, and Alternatives" a new report published under the auspices of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Committee on International Security Studies (CISS), is available at: http://www.amacad.org/publications/m..._with_Iraq.pdf
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QUOTABLE
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"Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows…. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I die with the conviction...that nuclear weapons are the scourge of the earth; to mine for them, manufacture them, deploy them, use them, is a curse against God, the human family, and the earth itself."
-Philip Berrigan
"Peace is always beautiful."
-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
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