[GANA] / Nuclear_Weapons_Future - Apr., May, Jun. 2006 - archive

Where _Nuclear_Weapon_ related news and documents selected by the Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance can be found

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 08:01:00 GMT

Ak Malten, the Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance: "GANA's News-feeds _and_ their archives contain _Nuclear_Weapon_ related news and documents selected by the Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance. "

Information about and links to them can be found at GANA's Website News-Index. The URL is:

http://www.cornnet.nl/~akmalten/news.html

GANA's 2006 first quarter archive of the _Nuclear_Weapons_Future_ news feeds can be found at: http://www.cornnet.nl/~akmalten/Nuclear_Weapons_Future-2006-Q1.rss

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Some Documents and articles on Proliferation, Non-Proliferation and Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 08:05:00 GMT

Documents and articles on Proliferation, Non-Proliferation and Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

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Are Nuclear Weapons Illegal? (2)

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 08:10:00 GMT

Judge Weeramantry "I regret that the Court has not held directly and categorically that the use or threat of use of the weapon is unlawful in all circumstances without exception. The Court should have so stated in a vigorous and forthright manner which would have settled this legal question now and forever."

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How to Become a Nuclear Superpower - The dangerous World of Nuclear Proliferation. (2)

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 08:15:00 GMT

Kelly Whalen "How to Become a Nuclear Superpower - The dangerous World of Nuclear Proliferation"

From signing official treaties to secretly buying plutonium on the black market, this interactive feature shows the steps counties can take to develope nuclear weapons. - javascript needed

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Can a Nuclear Weapons Free Future be reached or will it be impossible? (2)

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 08:20:00 GMT

John P. Holdren "Aiming for Zero: The Trajectory Toward a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World"

Keynote Presentation in Honor of Sir Joseph Rotblat at the 55th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, Hiroshima, Japan, 22-27 July 2005. - PDF-document format

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Controlling the Bomb

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:50:00 GMT

Zia Mian, International Relations Center IRC: "The United States is trying to prevent Iran from acquiring the capacity to make nuclear weapons. This is only the most recent of its seemingly endless series of battles over the past 60 years to control which other countries have access to these weapons. In this time it has failed to understand that as a nuclear-armed superpower it is as much part of the problem as part of the solution. As the Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca explained almost 2000 years ago, "Power over life and death - don't be proud of it. Whatever they fear from you, you'll be threatened with."

Non-proliferation by cooperation and consent cannot succeed as long as the United States is insistent on retaining and improving its nuclear arsenal and allowing its allies to have these weapons. By what argument can others be persuaded to give up, or not acquire, nuclear weapons? The only hope lies in a mutual recognition that all nuclear weapons are created equally evil, and there should be no room in our world for such weapons of mass destruction.

Zia Mian is a Pakistani physicist with the Program on Science and Global Security at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a frequent contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus (online at www.fpif.org). This report is a slightly revised version of an article published in Economic and Political Weekly on February 11, 2006."

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Is the U.S. about to attack Iran?

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 08:00:00 GMT

Dan Froomkin, Nieman Watchdog: "Is the U.S. about to attack Iran?

ASK THIS

An expert says administration posturing is very reminiscent of the coordinated campaign before the Iraq war. But proponents of attacking Iran haven't come close to making their case - and there are many questions they need to answer...."

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NPT in Danger - Rice calls Indian deal a key to Asia strategy

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Brian Knowlton, International Herald Tribune: "WASHINGTON Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Congress on Wednesday that a nuclear cooperation agreement with India was designed to cement a strategic relationship with a rising Asian giant and warned that if the pact were rejected then "all the hostility and suspicion of the past would be redoubled."

....The initiative, sealed March 2 when President George W. Bush met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, embraces several important Bush administration goals: seeking to strengthen relations with the world's most populous democracy, potentially bolstering India as a counterweight to China, and lessening global energy competition by helping India generate more nuclear energy.

But it would also require changes in U.S. law and mean the reversal of nearly 30 years of anti-proliferation policy. Some critics say it would reward a country that refused to sign the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty...."

(Javascript should be on)

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NPT in Danger - US-India deal unlikely to win Congress approval unchanged

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 22:00:00 GMT

Khalid Hasan, Daily Times: "WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified in front of the House International Relations Committee on Wednesday, and while most lawmakers said in the end they would vote for the US-India nuclear deal, it was clear that they would not do so before India concluded a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and before the deal passed muster with the Nuclear Suppliers Group...."

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Chief of U.N. Monitoring Agency to Conduct Nuclear Talks in Iran

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 16:00:00 GMT

ELAINE SCIOLINO, The New York Times: "PARIS, April 7 - Mohamed ElBaradei, the director of the United Nations' nuclear monitoring agency in Vienna, will visit Iran next week to conduct talks on the country's nuclear program, his agency announced Friday...."

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NPT in Danger - Los Alamos Needs Skilled [Plutonium] Workers

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 06:00:00 GMT

John Arnold, Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer: "Los Alamos National Laboratory needs more skilled technicians to help with its expanding pit manufacturing program and other jobs, and the state's community colleges can help, a LANL consultant said Friday.

"Manufacturing has not really been a major part of the lab, but it will become a major part of the lab," said the consultant, Abad Sandoval. "So we've got a lot of people working, or will be working, in manufacturing who really need to become certified and retrained."

Comment:

You may find the article of interest. The people organizing it did not expect publicity or opposition. They also did not quite have their stories straight.

I don't know if folks from afar can fully visualize the predatory nature of these nuclear institutions in this, almost the poorest state in the U.S. The New Mexico Association of Community Colleges (NMACC) lists the National Nuclear Security Administration, which funds the U.S. weapons program, as one of its institutional "partners." Another "partner" of the NMACC is the Technology Ventures Corporation, New Mexico's primary high-tech economic development forum, which is funded by Sandia National Laboratory (i.e. Lockheed). The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which is the Pentagon nuclear research arm among other things, has given the University of New Mexico a $50 million contract, among the latter's other defense work.

The nuclear weapons enterprise is not well, however. Very not well. It is my hope that some of you will join us here, at Los Alamos and Sandia, as we undermine that work.

Greg Mello, Los Alamos Study Group. "

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Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 22:00:00 GMT

SEYMOUR M. HERSH, The New Yorker: "The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium...."

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U.S. plans for Iran "options" and the nuclear weapons debate

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 22:00:00 GMT

Andrew Lichterman, DisarmamentActivist.org: "Jeffrey Lewis at Armscontrolwonk.com responded today to the Seymour Hersh article on U.S. preparations and planning for an attack on Iran. Hersh reports that a debate is raging in the government over use of nuclear weapons against certain hard to destroy targets. Lewis suggests that it is unlikely that use of nuclear weapons is under consideration, arguing that the underground facility built for Iran's uranium enrichment operations can be destroyed with existing U.S. conventional weapons. But there remain unanswered questions, and Hersh's report that vigorous debate regarding nuclear weapons use against Iran is going on inside the government is as important as how "practical" such use might be...."

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Hersh's Bombshell

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:00:00 GMT

JOHN BURROUGHS at DisarmamentActivist.org: "The options being considered are for use of nuclear weapons in order to strike targets difficult to destroy by non-nuclear means. In other words, the options are for integration of nuclear use with other military operations as part of the initial attack."

"As a whole, the [Hersh] article conveys that the administration is prepared to launch an attack should Iran not accede to U.S. demands, above all not to proceed with uranium enrichment activities. But the potential conflict goes beyond that: the administration seems committed to regime change regardless of whether the nuclear issues are capable of resolution (which they probably are, given any willingness to compromise on Washington's part)."

"If executed, U.S. military action would apply the Bush doctrine of preventive war in an unprecedented way that would set the template for years or decades of regional and global violence, unrestrained by law."

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Iran Insists Enrichment Goal Is Peaceful

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 19:00:00 GMT

ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer: " TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's hard-line president said Tuesday that the country "has joined the club of nuclear countries" by successfully enriching uranium for the first time - a key process in what Iran maintains is a peaceful energy program.

The announcement from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was certain to heighten international tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program. The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all enrichment by April 28 because of suspicions the program is designed to make nuclear weapons.

Ahmadinejad warned the West that trying to force it to abandon uranium enrichment would "cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians."...."

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"Divine Strake" and the talk of a nuclear attack on Iran (2)

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 05:00:00 GMT

Andrew Lichterman at DisarmamentActivist.org: "There have been two related sets of news stories in the past week involving nuclear weapons. Seymour Hersh, writing in the New Yorker, and the Washington Post ran stories regarding planning for a possible use of nuclear weapons in an attack on Iran. The reported rationale for considering nuclear weapons use is that some underground Iranian facilities might be difficult to destroy with conventional weapons. A scattering of newspapers have reported that a large conventional test explosion called "Divine Strake," planned for June at the Nevada Test Site, will simulate nuclear weapons use. One purpose of the program of which that test is a part, according to Department of Defense budget documents, is to "develop a planning tool that will improve the warfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage."..."

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Don't nuke Iran - Pre-emptive peace strike, step one: keep NATO out of nuking Iran

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 14:00:00 GMT

GreenPeace International: "Amsterdam, Netherlands - An expose this week by respected insider journalist Seymour Hersh reveals that the US is considering the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. But where would those weapons come from, and where would they strike? Those questions bear deep implications for NATO and innocent civilians in Iran.

Under something known as "nuclear burden sharing" there are currently some 480 US/NATO nuclear bombs spread across six countries: the UK, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey.

The US could decide to use any or all of these without consulting the host countries governments, or people, to use against Iran."

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Collected Thoughts On Iranian LEU

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 16:00:00 GMT

Dr Jeffrey Lewis, Arms Control Wonk.com: "The Jedi-rejects, prancing about with lightsabers, are actually Iranian artistes holding aloft tubes of what purports to be 3.5 percent low enriched uranium (LEU), which Iranian President Ahmadinejad cites as evidence "Iran has joined the nuclear countries of the world" (full text below)...."

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Pope calls for nuclear diplomacy

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 16:05:00 GMT

Philip Pullella, Reuters: "VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in his first Easter message, called on Sunday for an "honorable solution" to the nuclear standoff with Iran, a truly independent Palestinian state, and global cooperation to combat terrorism...."

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Inside the real Iran

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 16:10:00 GMT

Angus McDowall in Tehran and Raymond Whitaker, The Independent: "Despite the welcome for their President's nuclear bragging and anti-Israel rhetoric, many Iranians have private worries about the economy - and the threat of war...."

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Leaders call for calm over Iran's nuclear ambitions

Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Brian Whitaker and agencies, The Guardian: "World leaders, as well as Americans close to the Bush administration, called for calm over Iran's nuclear programme yesterday amid persistent reports that the US is considering a military attack.

In his Easter message from the Vatican, Pope Benedict spoke of "international crises linked to nuclear power" and urged: "May an honourable solution be found for all parties, through serious and honest negotiations." UN secretary general Kofi Annan also cautioned against a rush towards confrontation, saying that military action against Iran would only worsen an already tense situation...."

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Bush won't rule out nuclear strike on Iran

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:00:00 GMT

Edmund Blair, Reuters: "...Bush said in Washington he would discuss Iran's nuclear activities with China's President

Asked if options included planning for a nuclear strike, Bush replied: "All options are on the table. We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so."

Speculation about a U.S. attack has mounted since a report in New Yorker magazine said this month that Washington was mulling the option of using tactical nuclear weapons to knock out Iran's subterranean nuclear sites...."

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VIEW: Turning point at Chernobyl - Mikhail S Gorbachev

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:00:00 GMT

Mikhail Gorbachev, Daily Times PK: "Chernobyl opened my eyes like nothing else: it showed the horrible consequences of nuclear power, even when it is used for non-military purposes. One could now imagine much more clearly what might happen if a nuclear bomb exploded. According to scientific experts, one SS-18 rocket could contain 100 Chernobyls...."

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AbolitionNow! - CHERNOBYL REMEMBERED

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 22:00:00 GMT

Abolition 2000 - AbolitionNow! campaign:

"

CHERNOBYL REMEMBERED

20 Years Since the World's Worst Civil Nuclear Disaster

Featured - News - Reports

Resources for NGOs

Testimonies of Survivors

Anniversary Events

Organizations"

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A Practical Guide to Diffusing the Iran Crisis and Halting Nuclear Proliferation (2)

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 06:00:00 GMT

Alice Slater, GRACE Policy Institute: "There most definitely is a diplomatic solution to the crisis being manufactured over Iran's nuclear ambitions--but it goes much further than the current impotent suggestions being offered for jaw-jaw rather than war-war with Iran. The US must honor its own disarmament agreement under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, put a halt to the development of new nuclear weapons, and take up Putin's offer of several years ago to cut our mutual nuclear arsenals of about 10,000 weapons to 1,000. Once the US and Russia get down to reasonable numbers approaching the arsenals of the other nuclear weapons states--China, UK, France and Israel, who have stockpiles in the hundreds, and India, Pakistan, and North Korea who have less than one hundred bombs in their arsenals-- then we can take up China's offer to negotiate a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons and call all the nuclear weapons states to the table. Civil society has already produced a Model Nuclear Weapons Convention drafted by scientists, lawyers, and policy makers in the international Abolition 2000 Network, which was introduced into the UN General Assembly by Costa Rica as a discussion document. It lays out all the steps for dismantlement, verification, guarding, and monitoring the disassembled arsenals to insure that we will all be secure from nuclear break-out...."

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A Path to Peace with Iran

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 21:00:00 GMT

Scott Ritter, Alternet: "04/20/06 "Alternet" -- It has been more than a week now since the Iranian government announced that it had "joined the nuclear club" by successfully enriching uranium, albeit for nuclear fuel, not a weapon. Once a nation has the capacity to enrich to the former, enrichment to the latter is simply a matter of time; the technology is the same. Iran's declaration immediately made headlines around the world, with stunned punditry engaging in wild speculation about the potential ramifications of this turn of events. From a simple laboratory-scale enrichment experiment, a massive nuclear weapons program grew Pheonix-like from the ashes, prompting dire warnings from US Government officials such as Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Stephen Rademaker, who told a press conference in Moscow, where he was visiting to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue with Russian officials, that Iran "...may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days."

Rademaker was referring to the mathematical possibilities arising from Iran enriching uranium to weapons grade-levels at its centrifuge enrichment plant at Natanz, using a 50,000-centrifuge cascade system the United States and others say is capable of being installed at the facility. In a nod to the hypothetical nature of his outlandish remark, Rademaker did note that the Iranians have gone on record as only wanting to install a 3,000-centrifuge cascade at Natanz. In that case, Rademaker said, "We calculate that a 3,000-machine cascade could produce enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon within 271 days." Apparently 271 days isn't as terrifyingly sexy as 16 days, given that the majority of the media reported Rademakers initial statement...."

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Physicists to President Bush: Take the Nuclear Option Off the Table!

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 07:00:00 GMT

Jorge Hirsch at Antiwar.com Blog: "Together with 12 of the nation's most eminent physicists, I recently wrote to President Bush to tell him that to plan for the use of nuclear weapons against Iran is gravely irresponsible. We asked him to publicly take the nuclear option off the table.

"President Bush has not responded. Perhaps he did not receive the letter, so we will bring it to him in person.

"On Wednesday, April 26, 5 p.m., at Lafayette Park across from the White House, I will read the letter in public, as well as a supporting petition by over 1,900 physicists repudiating the new U.S. nuclear weapons policies, and then deliver these documents to the White House.

"Please come and join us [.pdf] if you support this effort, and please help spread the word."

The letter is reproduced below...."

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Bombs Away

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 10:00:00 GMT

MAX M. KAMPELMAN, New York Times - Opinion: "IN my lifetime, I have witnessed two successful titanic struggles by civilized society against totalitarian movements, those against Nazi fascism and Soviet communism. As an arms control negotiator for Ronald Reagan, I had the privilege of playing a role -- a small role -- in the second of these triumphs.

Yet, at the age of 85, I have never been more worried about the future for my children and grandchildren than I am today. The number of countries possessing nuclear arms is increasing, and terrorists are poised to master nuclear technology with the objective of using those deadly arms against us.

The United States must face this reality head on and undertake decisive steps to prevent catastrophe. Only we can exercise the constructive leadership necessary to address the nuclear threat.

Unfortunately, the goal of globally eliminating all weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical and biological arms -- is today not an integral part of American foreign policy; it needs to be put back at the top of our agenda...."

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Bringing Nuclear Disarmament "Home" to the Peace and Justice Movement

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 06:00:00 GMT

Jackie Cabasso at DisarmamentActivist.org: "Readers of this blog have been privy to in-depth information and analysis about the Iranian crisis and what it really means, by my colleagues, Andrew Lichterman, John Burroughs, and Michael Spies. You might wonder about the name of our blog, "DisarmamentActivist.org." We believe that education and critical thinking are essential building blocks of effective activism. But at the same time, while we've been delving into the facts and putting them into context, we've also been working with our colleagues on plans for action. (Obviously much more needs to be done!) The initial results can be found on the new United for Peace and Justice No War on Iran! No Nukes! campaign pages. There you can sign and send letters to members of Congress and the U.N. Security Council calling on them to oppose military action against Iran, uphold the law, support diplomatic solutions, and put an end to U.S. nuclear hypocrisy. You can also sign a petition to Bush and Cheney, and find links to additional educational materials and action items. On April 29, under the banner No Nukes! No Wars! we'll be marching for Peace, Justice and Democracy in New York City, and hosting an interactive No War on Iran! No Nukes! tent in the Peace and Justice Festival. Join our Nuclear Abolition contingent at 20th Street, east of Broadway, starting at 11:00 am (enter from Park Avenue South)!...

...Nuclear weapons have delivered themselves back to the anti-war movement. Our challenge and our promise now is grow from anti-Iraq war movement into a mature, truly anti-war movement, which demands in no uncertain terms the global elimination of nuclear weapons and a new concept of global (not "national") security based on human needs and ecological values."

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Former Environmental Ministers call on UN to reform IAEA mandate and End the Nuclear Age

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 13:00:00 GMT

Greenpeace International: "Vienna, Austria -- In the run up to the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, former European Environmental Ministers (1) and Greenpeace are calling on Secretary-General Kofi Annan and International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed ElBaradei to reform the Agency's mandate and withdraw its promotion of nuclear technology, thereby eliminating the risk of another nuclear disaster of Chernobyl's magnitude.

This demand highlights the contradictory roles the IAEA plays in the international arena. On one hand, the IAEA is tasked with stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and providing technical assistance to support the nuclear disarmament process. On the other, the IAEA's mandate promotes the dangerous myth of peaceful nuclear power. The former environmental ministers call on the UN to propose amendments to the IAEA statute at the forthcoming IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference in mid September...."

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Twenty Years After the Chernobyl Accident

Wed, 03 May 2006 19:30:00 GMT

IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei: "The April 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant remains a painful memory in the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people who were most affected by the accident. In addition to the emergency rescue workers who died, thousands of children contracted thyroid cancer, and thousands of other individuals will eventually die of other cancers caused by the release of radiation. Vast areas of cropland, forests, rivers and urban centres were contaminated by environmental fallout. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from these affected areas - forced to leave behind their homes, possessions, and livelihoods - and resettled elsewhere, in a traumatic outcome that has had long-lasting psychological and social impacts...."

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Disaster At Chernobyl: More Resources

Wed, 03 May 2006 19:35:00 GMT

AtomicArchive.com: "Here are some more looks back to the disaster at Chernobyl:

CBS News: Disaster At Chernobyl

ABC News: Chernobyl: Remembering a Nuclear Nightmare

BBC News QandA: Chernobyl 20 years on

Yahoo! Chernobyl Disaster Anniversary"

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Divine Strake: a Bad Signal at a Bad Time

Wed, 03 May 2006 19:45:00 GMT

Andrew Lichterman at DisarmamentActivist.org: "I have written a two page information brief, "The Divine Strake Nuclear Weapons Simulation: A Bad Signal at a Bad Time," for the Western States Legal Foundation. The information brief is available on the WSLF web site as a pdf file (click here). It summarizes some of the material regarding Divine Strake previously posted here, and provides contact information for the coalition opposing the test...."

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IAEA says Iran enriched uranium

Wed, 03 May 2006 19:50:00 GMT

The AtomicArchive.com: "International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that Iran had enriched uranium and was in defiance of the U.N. Security Council.

In response, Western nations promised Friday to introduce a new Security Council resolution next week.

The finding that Iran was not in compliance, which was expected, was contained in a report drawn up by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

The eight-page report said that, after more than three years of an IAEA investigation, "the existing gaps in knowledge continue to be a matter of concern."...."

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UK-French draft resolution on Iran (3)

Mon, 08 May 2006 12:00:00 GMT

Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance [GANA]: "My Friend John Burroughs of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy wrote and send to us the following I would like to share with you....

Peace, or saved by the pigeon,

Ak Malten

--- original message follows here ---

Today a draft resolution on Iran put forward by France and Britain and discussed in Security Council consultations was informally circulated at the UN. We posted it at http://lcnp.org/disarmament/iran/draftresUNSC03may.pdf

I have a quick reaction to it on www.DisarmamentActivist.org, at http://disarmamentactivist.org/2006/05/03/britishfrench-draft-security-council-resolution-on-iran/

See also my discussion of possible alternative Security Council approaches at http://lcnp.org/disarmament/iran/remarks-may2.htm

You can send a letter to Security Council members at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3241

John Burroughs, Executive Director

Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy

675 Third Ave., Suite 315

New York, NY 10017-5704 USA

tel 212 818 1861; fax 212 818 1857

www.lcnp.org; johnburroughs@lcnp.org

--- end ---" "

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Iran - Breaking the Cycle of Escalation (2)

Mon, 08 May 2006 07:00:00 GMT

Daryl G. Kimball, ArmsControl.org: "Since talks between Iran and three leading European states fell apart last August, the impasse over Iran's nuclear program has steadily worsened. Each time Washington and its European partners ratchet up international pressure on Iran to slow its nuclear efforts and provide greater transparency, Tehran has pushed back and accelerated work on its uranium-enrichment program, which could eventually be used to produce bomb-grade material.

Consequently, the main antagonists are moving further away from the diplomatic solution both say they want. As a result, we may eventually see a military confrontation, a nuclear weapons-capable Iran, or both. If such perilous outcomes are to be averted, Washington and Tehran need to engage in direct talks aimed at a grand bargain that addresses each of their concerns...."

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Annan - U.S. Should Hold Talks With Iran (2)

Mon, 08 May 2006 07:05:00 GMT

Yahoo! News: "Fri May 5, 1:17 AM ET

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan encouraged the United States to hold direct talks with Iran and expressed hope that an agreement can be reached to settle the nuclear dispute with Tehran without resorting to violence.

The U.N. chief called for intensified diplomatic efforts to press the Iranians to suspend uranium enrichment while putting something on the table for Tehran, possibly technology or security assurances that nobody is going to blow up their nuclear facilities...."

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Criticism of UN Iran draft mounts (2)

Mon, 08 May 2006 07:10:00 GMT

BBC News: "Russia and China have criticised a UN Security Council draft resolution on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Russia says the draft needs rewriting with stronger emphasis put on building confidence between Iran and the UN.

China says it is worried that the draft's Western sponsors have based it on UN rules that could open the way for the use of military force against Iran.

The draft demands that Iran stop nuclear enrichment and threatens further measures if it does not do so...."

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Early Warning - Disassembling, and Talking, Nuclear Junk (2)

Mon, 08 May 2006 07:15:00 GMT

William M. Arkin, The Washington Post: "on National and Homeland Security

Disassembling, and Talking, Nuclear Junk

Is the Bush administration accelerating the retirement of old nuclear warheads in order to pave the way for a consensus to build new ones?

Today's Post reports plans by the Department of Energy to dismantle a greater number of "non-operational" warheads, an ongoing program that they admit has grown lethargic over the years. The United States has as many as 6,000 non-operational warheads in the stockpile.

The DOE say that the plan to speed up dismantlement is "in part to counter any impression that the United States is starting a new arms race with its work to develop a new generation of more reliable nuclear arms," the Washington Post's Walter Pincus writes.

"Dismantlements are a key element of our strategy to ensure that stockpile and infrastructure transformation is not misperceived by other nations as 'restarting the arms race,' " DOE Deputy Secretary Clay Sell told the House last week.

It is a laudable goal.

Perhaps those well meaning folk at the DOE should speak to the President when he leaves the nuclear option on the table. Perhaps they should coordinate with the rest of the U.S. government, where the program of "global strike" and post 9/11 nuclear strategies is actually increasing nuclear options and conveying a far more damaging and countervailing "impression." ...."

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Nuclear disarmament - The long, long half-life

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 10:00:00 GMT

Special Report, The Economist: "The five countries officially recognised as having nuclear weapons are all committed to giving them up. Why don't they?

"I FELT as if there had been an earthquake beneath my feet," was Margaret Thatcher's recollection of the 1986 Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. What shocked Britain's "iron lady", astonished the watching world and startled the summiteers themselves was how close the leaders of the hitherto battling superpowers had seemed to come to agreeing to give up all their nuclear weapons.

The heady moment passed. Yet why should the vision of nuclear disarmament have seemed so shocking? Why does achieving it still seem so far away? And what, if anything, might make its prospects brighter in future?...."

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WEAPONS OF TERROR: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 11:00:00 GMT

The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC): "Commission report presented

New proposals to reduce threats by weapons of mass destruction

On 1 June the WMDC Chairman Dr. Hans Blix presented the Commission report "Weapons of Terror" to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York. The report contains sixty concrete proposals on how the world could be freed of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

The report was also handed over to Sweden's Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson, also president of the United Nations General Assembly."

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