Nevada Nuclear Tests Might Resume

New projects planned for the Nevada Test Site are raising concern that nuclear bomb testing may resume there. Local and national military watchdogs say all indications are that President Bush, if re-elected, would begin testing some types of nuclear weapons before the end of the decade at the NTS, located about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas and upwind of Utah. "You put all the pieces of the puzzle together," said Steve Erickson, director of the local Citizens Education Project, "and it leads to the conclusion that yes, we may very well be on the road to a resumption of nuclear testing."

The British threat: By hardening its policy on nuclear weapons, New Labour is encouraging proliferation (Guardian/UK, 30 March 2004)

The paradox of modern warfare works like this: by enhancing our military strength, we enhance our opponents' capacity to destroy us. The Russian state developed thermobaric bombs (which release a cloud of explosive material into the air) for use against Muslim guerrillas. Now, according to New Scientist, Muslim terrorists are trying to copy them. The United States has been producing weaponised anthrax, ostensibly to anticipate terrorist threats. In 2001, anthrax stolen from this programme was used to terrorise America. The greatest horrors with which terrorists might threaten us are those whose development we funded.

Addressing the Unthinkable, US Revives Study of Fallout (New York Times, 19 March 2004) A non-proliferation charade? (UPI, 04 February 2004)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- In the past couple of months, Iran has agreed to sign additional protocols with the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, for intrusive and surprise inspections of its nuclear facilities. It is a measure the United States insisted upon, fearing that Iran's ultimate motive is to develop nuclear weapons.

Another little-noticed item -- though of enormous significance from the perspective of global nuclear non-proliferation -- was that Mohammad El Baradei, head of the IAEA, urged Israel, on Dec. 12, 2003, to scrap its nuclear weapons.

Israel's possession of nuclear weapons is one of the world's worst-kept secrets, a source of grave concern for its Arab neighbors, and one of the reasons underlying Iran's continued pursuance of its own nuclear program.

Teen hacker triggered nuclear terrorism alert (Sydney Morning Herald, 04 February 2004)

A British teenager has narrowly escaped jail after sparking a nuclear panic by hacking into a top secret United States weapons laboratory.

Joseph McElroy, 18, who on Monday was ordered to serve a 200-hour community punishment order, bypassed the facility's electronic security systems with sophisticated software he had developed and nicknamed Deathserv.

McElroy wanted to use the advanced network's power to download and store films and music from the internet.

The Nuclear Market: An Array of Vendors (New York Times, 25 January 2004)

'America Losing World's Trust'

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 -- The bluntly worded conclusion by the chief American arms inspector in Iraq, David Kay, that Saddam Hussein "got rid" of his unconventional weapons long before the Iraq invasion last year underscores a point that has become clear to intelligence experts in the past few months: President Bush moved first, and most decisively, against a country that posed a smaller proliferation risk than North Korea, Libya and Iran or even one of America's allies, Pakistan.

U.S. Expert Unconvinced N. Korea Can Make Nuclear Bomb (Reuters, 21 January 2004)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A prominent U.S. scientist who visited North Korea's nuclear facilities said on Wednesday he was not convinced the communist state could turn its nuclear technology into a weapon or mount it on a missile.

But Siegfried Hecker, former head of Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of America's top nuclear research facilities, said Pyongyang's program, which Washington is trying to halt, was still of great concern.

Nuclear Reaction: Iraqi scientist refutes U.S. weapon claims, recalls studying at 'U' (The State News, 20 January 2004)

Khadduri studied physics at MSU in the 1960s before embarking on a 30-year career as an Iraqi nuclear scientist. Last year, he wrote "Iraq's Nuclear Mirage," a book about his experiences.

• Imad Khadduri: Mobile lies
• Imad Khadduri: The nuclear bomb hoax
• Imad Khadduri: The demise of the nuclear bomb hoax
• As UN Weapons Inspections Begin, a Former Iraqi Nuclear Scientist Says Iraq's Nation's Atomic Program No Longer Exists: Imad Khadduri Also Explains How the Eisenhower Administration Helped Start Iraq's Atomic Program (Democracy Now!, 27 November 2002)

China, US sign deal on nuclear non-proliferation (The International News, 13 January 2004) Sino-US statement on nuclear energy conducive to cooperation: FM (Xinhuanet, 13 January 2004) China, Russia hopeful on North Korea crisis, as Americans brief Japan (AP, 13 January 2004) U.S., China sign nuclear statement (UPI, 12 January 2004) Rage of a Relic: Paul O'Neill is angry that the world has passed him by. (Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal, 12 January 2004)

At the first meeting of the president's cabinet, Mr. O'Neill passed out copies of a speech he gave in 1998 in which he said that there were two issues that transcend all others: "One is nuclear holocaust. . . . The second is environmental: specifically, the issue of global climate change and the potential of global warming."

Observers Fault U.S. for Pursuing Mini-Nukes: Critics say American 'double standard' will undermine efforts to curb nuclear arms. (LA Times, 23 December 2003) Observers Fault U.S. for Pursuing Mini-Nukes: Critics say American 'double standard' will undermine efforts to curb nuclear arms. (Los Angeles Times, 23 December 2003) World Nuclear Powers (LA Times, 23 December 2003) Libya Gives Up Nuclear and Chemical Weapons (Independent/UK, 20 December 2003) The Evasions of Robert McNamara: What's true and what's a lie in The Fog of War? (Slate, 19 December 2003)

A great biography waits to be written about Robert Strange McNamara and the central role he played in 20th-century America, both as an actor in its historic dramas and as a symbol of the shattering of its postwar illusions in the wake of Vietnam. Errol Morris' documentary film The Fog of War (released in theaters today) conveys a brilliant glimmer of where that biography might go.

[...]

Then, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, came the war in Vietnam. At first McNamara tried to manage the war with his usual assurance. By 1967, he was worn out; defeat seemed certain; his methods, his basic assumptions about the workings of the world, had failed him. He resigned (or got fired--it was never quite clear), received an appointment as president of the World Bank, and over the next few decades emerged periodically to advance proposals for world disarmament.

[...]

[...] in the film's most searing moment, he likens himself to a war criminal for the massive firebombings that he and Gen. Curtis LeMay planned during WWII; the raids over Tokyo killed 100,000 civilians in a single night.

• The Wizards of Armageddon (Stanford Nuclear Age Series)
• Rumsfeld's Dr. Strangelove: Keith Payne says 7,000 warheads aren't enough.
• Averting 'The Final Failure': John F. Kennedy and the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis Meetings (Stanford Nuclear Age Series)

Ounce of Preventive War, Pound of Destruction: Notion of 'strike first' helped fill the 20th century with violence (Los Angeles Times, 19 December 2003) Original story link

Now that the concept of "preventive war" has entered the vocabulary again in the context of the latest war in Iraq, it is interesting to note that it has been a recurring theme through the last century.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, preventive war was seriously discussed because of the advent of nuclear weapons. It was argued that because the United States had nuclear superiority, we would be well advised to fight the Soviets sooner rather than later, before they could match our nuclear arsenal.

One of the advocates of this policy was Curtis LeMay, the Air Force general under whom McNamara served during World War II. In 1957, LeMay was head of the Strategic Air Command. He was warned that few SAC bombers could survive a surprise Soviet attack, and the men who told him the news remember his response: "I'll knock [them out] before they get off the ground.... It's not national policy, but it's my policy."

And it was LeMay who essentially advocated preventive war during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Everyone is familiar with the tape recordings Nixon made in the White House, but it's less well known that both Kennedy and Johnson selectively recorded phone conversations and Cabinet meetings. In one recording made during the missile crisis, LeMay (by then Air Force chief of staff) comes across as angry and bellicose. He tells Kennedy that what Kennedy is doing ? forgoing immediate military action in hopes of negotiating a settlement ? is worse than Munich; that is, worse than the way British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gave in to Hitler and set up World War II. Essentially, LeMay calls Kennedy an appeaser, a weakling. And LeMay never backed down. In a story that McNamara tells, after the Cuban Missile Crisis is resolved, Kennedy compliments his generals on having "won" by keeping the nation out of war. LeMay blurts out, "Won, hell, we lost. We should go in and wipe them out today!"

Such stories are particularly instructive because of new information that has come to light in recent years. In 1962, the CIA told Kennedy and his advisors that there were no nuclear warheads in Cuba. It was wrong. In fact, there were 162 nuclear warheads on the island that could have been used against an American invasion force and the U.S. homeland.

LeMay's belief that it was important to strike then -- to fight a preventive war when the odds were supposedly with us -- would have in all likelihood led to disaster. It could have led to a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Someone recently said to me, "Well, the Cuban Missile Crisis was not that important." I replied, "It depends on how important you think Florida is."

So here we are, at the beginning of a new century, and preventive war has made a comeback. I look at it with a jaundiced eye. Haven't we been there before? Isn't "preventive war" an oxymoron? Shouldn't we have learned by now that war doesn't reduce hostility, anger and instability but instead creates more of the same? And we might ask ourselves: Do we want more of the same for this next century?

WANTED: RECORDS RELATED TO LOBBYING BLITZ HATCHED BY BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND ENERGY INDUSTRY OFFICIALS (NRDC, 18 December 2003)

WASHINGTON (December 18, 2003) - What happens when oil, gas, mining and nuclear lobbyists meet behind closed doors with high-level Energy Department officials to discuss the energy bill that stalled in Congress? That is what NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) intends to find out. Today NRDC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking records relating to efforts by Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow and other agency officials to coordinate a grassroots lobbying strategy with energy companies to secure passage of energy legislation. Such coordination may violate federal criminal law, according to NRDC.

Iran Authorizes Signing of Nuclear Protocol (Al-Jazeera, 11 December 2003) For 50 Years, 'Atoms for Peace' has Spawned Nuclear Fears (San Francisco Chronicle, 09 December 2003) Dirty Bomb Warheads Disappear: Stocks of Soviet-Era Arms For Sale on Black Market (Washington Post, 06 December 2003) A new era of nuclear weapons: Bush's buildup begins with little debate in Congress (San Francisco Chronicle, 06 December 2003) Bush plans new nuclear weapons: 'Bunker-buster' bombs set to end 10-year research ban (Observer, 30 November 2003) Protesters Fear Nuclear Arms in Space (Observer, 05 October 2003) Bush Would Use Mini-nukes, Prof Warns (Madison Capital Times/Wisconsin, 16 September 2003)

Is George Bush the most dangerous president in U.S. history?

If you ask Professor John Swomley, he is.

U.S. Marks Hiroshima Anniversary By Holding Top Secret Summit to Discuss Expanding Nation's Nuclear Arsenal (Democracy Now!, 05 August 2003) Pentagon nuclear arms session worries critics (Reuters, 04 August 2003) Looted and for sale in Iraq: the deadly core of nuclear weapons (Sunday Herald, 03 August 2003) William J. Broad: Facing a Second Nuclear Age (New York Times, 03 August 2003) US scraps nuclear weapons watchdog Hiroshima study to help set safety levels for radiation exposure (Guardian/UK, 31 July 2003)

Fifty-eight years after the first atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 1945, scientists have revealed the levels of radiation to which the survivors were exposed.

Warning of Toxic Aftermath from Uranium Munitions (Buffalo News [New York], 22 July 2003) A New Nuclear Age: Planners design technology to withstand the apocalypse (Los Angeles Times, 06 July 2003) A Path Forward: The Challenge of Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 17 June 2003) William Bowles: Before it moves, nuke it (Information Clearing House, 08 June 2003) Jeffrey St. Clair: Pools of Fire: The Looming Nuclear Nightmare in the Woods of North Carolina (Counterpunch, 05 June 2003) It Was The Technology, Not The ABM Treaty: Missile Defense Remains Unready One Year Before Deployment (Arms Control Association, 5 June 2003) North Korea nuclear mishap more likely than attack, says U.N. expert (Reuters, 30 May 2003) Washington Post Editorial: No More Nukes (Washington Post, 26 May 2003) Afghans' uranium levels spark alert: A small sample of Afghan civilians have shown "astonishing" levels of uranium in their urine, an independent scientist says. (BBC News, 22 May 2003) Senate backs off on small nuclear warheads: Bill is amended to permit only research, design (San Francisco Chronicle, 22 May 2003) US 'mini nukes' decision alarms critics (Independent.co.uk, 22 May 2003) U.S. Risks New Arms Race, Democrats Warn (Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2003) Rumsfeld pushes for new nuclear weapons study (Reuters, 21 May 2003) Experts Fear U.S.-Russia Nuclear 'Miscalculation': Think tank calls on world leaders to address the problem (Reuters, 21 May 2003) Senate Backs Bush on 'Mini-Nukes' (Reuters, 21 May 2003) Senate backs study of low-yield nuclear weapons (Reuters, 21 May 2003) Panel Rejects Nuclear Arms of Small Yield (New York Times, 15 May 2003)

WASHINGTON, May 14 -- A proposal by the Bush administration to allow development of new kinds of small nuclear weapons has been rejected by the Republican-controlled House Armed Services Committee.

[...]

In a compromise reached between Representative Curt Weldon, a Republican from Pennsylvania, and Representative John Spratt, a South Carolina Democrat who was an author of the original ban, the Armed Services Committee approved a measure to allow research into low-yield nuclear weapons.

Bush Is Seeking Newer, Smaller Nuclear Bombs: Cold War-era devices are too big to be a believable deterrent, and the U.S. needs options to confront current threats, proponents say. (Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2003) Robert Scheer: A Nuclear Road of No Return: Bush's bid for new kinds of weapons could put the world on a suicidal course. (Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2003) Rumsfeld's Dr. Strangelove: Keith Payne says 7,000 warheads aren't enough. Bush's nuclear arms plan: Administration wants billions to update U.S. warheads (San Francisco Chronicle, 11 May 2003) Senate Panel Votes to Lift Ban on Small Nuclear Arms (New York Times, 10 May 2003) Door Opened for New Era of Nuclear Arms (Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2003) Veterans' Nuclear Exposure Underestimated, Panel Says (New York Times, 9 May 2003) Nukes should be confined with five superpowers: US (HindustanTimes.com, 6 May 2003) Mini-nukes a 'terrible idea,' adviser says: Bunker busters would not go deep enough, according to physicist (Tri-Valley Herald, 30 April 2003) Mohamed ElBaradei: Preemption Is Not The Model (Washington Post, 23 April 2003)

We must resolve to treat not only the symptoms but also the root causes of conflicts -- foremost the divide between rich and poor, schisms between cultures and regimes in which human rights are brutally suppressed.

Finally, no collective system of security is sustainable if it is premised on continuing the asymmetry between the nuclear haves and have-nots. As the Canberra Commission stated a few years ago, "the possession of nuclear weapons by any State is a constant stimulus to other States to acquire them." The new vision of international security must work toward eliminating this asymmetry by delegitimizing weapons of mass destruction, and it must be inclusive in nature, guaranteeing that every nation that subscribes to the new system will be covered by the security "umbrella."

Only by eliminating the motivation to acquire weapons of mass destruction can we hope to significantly improve global security.

The writer is director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Administration moves ahead on nuclear `bunker busters' (Mercury News, 23 April 2003) Embattled Lab Unveils New Nukes (Wired News, 23 April 2003)

The United States' arsenal of 10,000 nuclear weapons isn't enough. The country needs more bombs, and the place to make them is the scandal-plagued Los Alamos National Laboratory.

U.S.-Russia Nuclear Disposal Project Said Advancing (Reuters, 23 April 2003) After 'Decline,' U.S. Again Capable of Making Nuclear Arms: Energy Department is restarting production of plutonium parts for its stockpile of bombs. (Los Angeles Times, 23 April 2003) Russian minister fears collapse of Chernobyl shield (Reuters, 23 April 2003) Letter of protest to George W. Bush on Iraq war and nuclear weapons from Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima, 21 April 2003 Goldman Prize Honors Environmental Crusaders (San Francisco Chronicle, 14 April 2003) Disarmament in tatters: U.S. undermined arms control system that was already deadlocked (San Francisco Chronicle, 6 April 2003) UN Disarmament Commission calls for world order based on effective arms control and rejection of unilateral use of force (1 April 2003) 'Creeping retreat' from nuclear disarmament, increased proliferation risk among issues stressed, as disarmament commission opens session (31 March 2003) North Korea warns of threat of nuclear war Bush approves nuclear response

""The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force -- including potentially nuclear weapons -- to the use of [weapons of mass destruction] against the United States, our forces abroad, and friends and allies," the document, National Security Presidential Directive 17, set out on Sept. 14 last year."

William Hartung: Proliferation, Not Iraq, Is the Issue (Newsday, 18 October 2002) Nuclear Plan Meant to Deter (Los Angeles Times, 11 March 2002)

The Verification and Compliance Regime for a Nuclear Weapon-Free World Three Minutes to Midnight: NPRI Symposium on the Impending Threat of Nuclear War

Audio speeches by Helen Caldicott, MD, Dr. Matthew McKinzie, Dr. William Arkin, Dr. Alan Robock, and others.

Valery Yarynich: The Hair Trigger: How a Nuclear War Could Start

Presentation from the NPRI Three Minutes to Midnight symposium. Explanation of Russian nuclear command & control known as C³.

Los Alamos Study Group: B61-11 Concerns and Background Los Alamos Study Group The Nuclear Weapon Archive First documented evidence that U.S. Presidents predelegated nuclear weapons release authority to the military Nuclear Posture Review [Excerpts] Deterrence v. Preemption: Assessing U.S. Nuclear Policies Guardian Century special page: £5 billion Trident deal is agreed: Cabinet attacked for 'short-circuiting discussion' (16 July 1980) Nuclear weapons and pollution linked to 65 million deaths With a so-called "Shock and Awe" combat philosophy, the US plans to launch 800 cruise missiles at Baghdad in two days -- more than twice what was launched in the entire Gulf War -- in order to create "this simultaneous effect, rather like the nuclear weapons at Hiroshima, not taking days or weeks but in minutes." The Pentagon is also planning for the possible use of nuclear weapons against Iraq. William Arkin: Bush has lowered bar for using ultimate weapon William Arkin: The Emerging Nuclear Posture William Arkin: Secret Plan Outlines the Unthinkable NRDC Nuclear Notebook Bush's Nuclear Doctrine: From MAD to NUTS? The Nuclear Posture Review: Reading Between the Lines Nuclear Posture Review Leaks; Outlines Targets, Contingencies Jimmy Carter: A Nuclear Crisis Soviet and Russian Nuclear Weapons and History Ray Kidder, Lynn Sykes and Frank von Hippel: False Fears About a Test Ban NRDC: The Consequences of Nuclear Conflict between India and Pakistan (6/4/02) CDI: Back from the Brink: End the Nuclear Threat Now -- De-alerting Nuclear Weapons Hans M. Kristensen: Preemptive posturing (9/02) Testimony by Richard Garwin in support of the comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT) Ian Williams: Bolton Beyond the Axis of Evil Arms Control Association David Isenberg: North Korea's nuke capability NRDC Table of Global Nuclear Stockpiles How Old Is The Earth, And How Do We Know? Center for Defense Information: US Military Spending James Carroll: The President's Nuclear Threat Oppose John Bolton's Nomination as State Department's Arms Control Leader! Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal: The Historic Opinion of the World Court and How It Will Be Enforced Documents on the decision to use atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Leo Szilard Miscellaneous nuclear facts Guerrillanews.com interview with Helen Caldicott Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch Department for Disarmament Affairs Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction

Nuclear Forces

Where they were

Given the enormous attention paid to nuclear weapons, it may come as a surprise to most people that until now we have had only fragmentary information about where, when, and under what circumstances the United States deployed nuclear bombs overseas.

U.S. Once Deployed 12,000 Atom Arms in 2 Dozen Nations U.S. nuclear weapon locations, 1995 NATO nuclear weapons in western Europe U.S. Secretly Deployed Nuclear Bombs In 27 Countries and Territories During Cold War U.S. nuclear forces, 2003 U.S.Nuclear Forces,2002 50 Facts About U.S. Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear Winter

Dean Babst: Preventing an Accidental Nuclear Winter Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Nuclear Winter Study Papers, 1972-1993: Guide Publications by Alan Robock on Nuclear Winter Jon Roland: Nuclear Winter and Other Scenarios George B. Kistiakowsky and Herbert Scoville Jr.: Why Washington's 'New' Nukes Would Be Worse (Christian Science Monitor, September 11, 1980)

Accidental or unauthorized launch

Bruce G. Blair: Keeping Presidents in the Nuclear Dark (Episode #2: The SIOP Option that Wasn't) Keeping Presidents in the Nuclear Dark (Episode #1: The Case of the Missing "Permissive Action Links")

The Strategic Air Command (SAC) in Omaha quietly decided to set the "locks" to all zeros in order to circumvent this safeguard. During the early to mid-1970s, during my stint as a Minuteman launch officer, they still had not been changed. Our launch checklist in fact instructed us, the firing crew, to double-check the locking panel in our underground launch bunker to ensure that no digits other than zero had been inadvertently dialed into the panel. SAC remained far less concerned about unauthorized launches than about the potential of these safeguards to interfere with the implementation of wartime launch orders. And so the "secret unlock code" during the height of the nuclear crises of the Cold War remained constant at OOOOOOOO.

Near misses

Shattered Shield: Cold-War Doctrines Refuse to Die Shattered Shield: Downsizing A Mighty Arsenal Shattered Shield: Russia's Myopic Missile Defense New Evidence Shows U.S. Almost Triggered Nuclear War With the Soviets 40 Years After Missile Crisis, Players Swap Stories in Cuba