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U.S. and India work on nuclear weapons deal
VIENNA (Reuters) - Resistance to lifting a global ban on nuclear trade with India diminished at a 45-nation meeting on Friday but it was unclear if a revised U.S. proposal would convince the last doubters.
At stake is the survival of a controversial 2005 U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal, a major initiative of President George W. Bush's administration which risks an uncertain fate if left to his successor, who will take office in January.
To launch the deal, Washington and New Delhi need a one-off waiver of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) rules against exports to India, an atomic weapons state outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which tested bombs in 1974 and 1998.
Many NSG members welcomed an Indian pledge rejecting any nuclear arms race and reaffirming a voluntary moratorium on tests. But some felt the commitment was not sufficiently binding on New Delhi.
John Rood, acting U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said India's gesture had added "positive momentum" to efforts to agree an NSG waiver.
Six NSG holdouts had been demanding a clause stipulating an automatic cessation of the waiver if India tested another weapon. Diplomats said that later shrank to four after Norway and Netherlands accepted less precise language.
Only Ireland, Austria, New Zealand and Switzerland were sticking to the "automaticity" position on testing, they said.
The NSG meeting dragged into Friday evening as delegations awaited presentation of an amended U.S. waiver draft meant to clinch a consensus on the emotionally charged testing issue. VIENNA (Reuters) - Resistance to lifting a global ban on nuclear trade with India diminished at a 45-nation meeting on Friday but it w... more -
Bolton suggests Israel will attack Iran
Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton on a possible Israeli strike.
John Bolton served as the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 to December 2006. From 2001 to 2005, he was Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton on a possible Israeli strike. ... more -
Report: Israel won't allow a nuclear Iran
Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear capability and if time begins to run out, Jerusalem will not hesitate to take whatever means necessary to prevent Iran from achieving its nuclear goals, the government has recently decided in a special discussion. Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear capability and if time begins to run out, Jerusalem will not hesitate to take whatever me... more
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Iran warns any attack would start 'world war'
A senior Iranian military commander has warned that any US or Israeli attack on the Islamic republic would start a new world war, the state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
"Any aggression against Iran will start a world war," deputy chief of staff for defence publicity, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, said in a statement carried by the agency.
Iran is under international pressure to halt uranium enrichment, a process which lies at the core of fears about Iran's nuclear programme as it can make nuclear fuel as well as the fissile core of an atom bomb. A senior Iranian military commander has warned that any US or Israeli attack on the Islamic republic would start a new world war, the ... more -
North Korea defies U.S., stops disabling nuclear reactors
North Korea said Tuesday it has suspended work to disable its nuclear reactor in anger over Washington's failure to remove it from the U.S. list of terror sponsors. The North said it will soon consider a step to restore the plutonium-producing facility. North Korea said Tuesday it has suspended work to disable its nuclear reactor in anger over Washington's failure to remove it fro... more
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North Korea threatens to restore nuclear facilities
North Korea said on Tuesday that it had stopped disabling its main nuclear complex, and threatened to restore facilities there that the North has used to produce plutonium fuel for nuclear weapons. The threat came a day after U.S. officials acknowledged that their talks with North Korea on how to verify its report on past nuclear activities had failed to make progress.
For months, U.S. experts together with North Korean engineers, had been disabling key facilities at Yongbyon in a move that at least temporarily shut down the North's only known source of plutonium. If the North rebuilds the facilities, it would nullify a key foreign policy achievement for President George W. Bush. North Korea said on Tuesday that it had stopped disabling its main nuclear complex, and threatened to restore facilities there that th... more -
Turkey wants in on NWO
For controversial Turkish President Abdullah Gül, the recent war in Georgia signals a "new world order" that will emerge from the rubble of South Ossetia and force the United States to share its power, The Guardian reported.
Gül said America's inability to prevent Russia's invasion shows that the US can no longer shape world politics as it once did.
"I don't think you can control all the world from one centre," Gül said. "There are big nations. There are huge populations. There is unbelievable economic development in some parts of the world. So what we have to do is, instead of unilateral actions, act all together, make common decisions and have consultations with the world. A new world order, if I can say it, should emerge."
The geopolitical turmoil in the Caucusus -- a region between Europe and Asia that includes the nations of Georgia and Turkey -- has placed Turkey in a difficult position between pleasing its neighbor Russia and not hurting its relationship with the US.
The conflict in Georgia proved Turkey's tenuous position regarding energy when Russian tanks cut the flow of oil to Turkey from a pipeline running through Georgia, Reuters reported.
Turkey's energy problems have forced it to seek gas from Russia and Iran, prompting an outcry from Washington.
Gül spoke to The Guardian shortly before a meeting with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The US warned Turkey on Thursday against striking an energy deal with Iran after learning of the two presidents' meeting, Financial Times reported.
US officials claim the deal will undermine international efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program.
"Such a deal by Turkey with Iran would send the wrong message at a time when the Iranian regime has repeatedly failed to comply with its UN Security Council and IAEA obligations," the US state department said.
Gül said he doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons, but he "doesn't want to think about" the United States attack on Iran.
"I don't want to think about that. Everybody should take a lesson from what happened in Iraq," he said. "Diplomatic solutions are always better than hard solutions." For controversial Turkish President Abdullah Gül, the recent war in Georgia signals a "new world order" that will emerge fro... more -
Nagasaki marks attack anniversary
Nagasaki today demanded North Korea fully abandon nuclear weapons and urged India to sign nuclear treaties, as the Japanese city marked 63 years since it was devastated by an atomic bomb.
Thousands of people observed a minute's silence at 11.02am, the exact moment the city was hit by the world's second and last nuclear attack on August 9, 1945, killing more than 70,000 people.
"As the victim of nuclear bombs, our country has a duty and responsibility for taking the initiative to eliminate nuclear weapons," Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue told the ceremony.
"The Japanese Government must strongly demand complete abolishment of nuclear weapons in North Korea," Mr Taue said, standing at the foot of the Peace Statue – a bronze figure of a man pointing to the sky.
"It should seriously consider the creation of a northeast Asian nuclear weapon-free zone," he said.
On Wednesday the city of Hiroshima held a ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the first ever nuclear attack, which killed 140,000 people.
The dropping of the two bombs by the US was followed by Japan's surrender in World War II on August 15. However, it ushered in the nuclear age and an era of fear that atomic bombs would be used again. Nagasaki today demanded North Korea fully abandon nuclear weapons and urged India to sign nuclear treaties, as the Japanese city marke... more -
War on terror is smokescreen for PNAC
This is just part one of the speech, go to youtube to see part 2
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Hiroshima marks bomb anniversary with hope for US change
The mayor of Hiroshima on Wednesday urged the next US president to work to abolish atomic weapons as the city marked the 63rd anniversary of the world's first nuclear attack.
Some 45,000 people, including Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, gathered at a memorial to the dead within sight of the A-bomb dome, a former exhibition hall burned to a skeleton by the bomb's incinerating heat.
They stood up and offered silent prayers at 8:15 am, the exact moment in 1945 when a single US bomb instantly killed more than 140,000 people and fatally injured tens of thousands of others with radiation or horrific burns.
Delivering a speech at the memorial, Hiroshima mayor Tadatoshi Akiba noted the United States was one of only three countries which oppose a UN resolution submitted by Japan calling for the abolition of nuclear arms.
"We can only hope that the president of the United States elected this November will listen conscientiously to the majority, for whom the top priority is human survival," he said.
Akiba said the effects of the atomic bombing on the minds of survivors had been underestimated for decades, adding that "the voices, faces and forms that vanished in the hell" had never left the hearts of survivors.
With the average age of survivors now over 75, he said the city would launch a two-year scientific study of the psychological impact of the experience.
"This study should teach us the grave import of the truth, born of tragedy and suffering, that the only role for nuclear weapons is to be abolished," the mayor told the service.
On the eve of the anniversary, children gathered in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome for a lantern march. Survivors burned incense before dawn broke.
An altar at the Peace Memorial Park quickly filled up with a mountain of flowers. A group of South Koreans performed a traditional dance to honour the dead, who included a number of Koreans.
"Children who evacuated buildings or went to work at factories on that day have not returned 63 years on... the atomic bomb deprived them of normal life," 11-year-old school girl Honoka Imai told the service.
A Chinese representative, a diplomat, attended the annual ceremony for the first time in a move welcomed by the city, which each year invites representatives of the world's eight declared nuclear powers to the event.
Previously India, Pakistan and Russia were the only nuclear powers that had sent representatives to the ceremony. The other declared nuclear states - Britain, France, North Korea and the United States - have never come.
Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, the United States dropped a second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, which killed another 70,000 people in the southern port city.
Japan surrendered in World War II on August 15. The nation has since been officially pacifist and turned into one of the closest US allies, hosting more than 40,000 US troops.
Dozens of atomic survivors and activists protested in Nagasaki this week as a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived in Japan, just days after it emerged another sub may have suffered a small radiation leak earlier this year. The mayor of Hiroshima on Wednesday urged the next US president to work to abolish atomic weapons as the city marked the 63rd annivers... more -
US missile alert crew falls asleep on the job
It was 9.30 in the evening. The crew of three air force members decided to rest a little and within 15 minutes they were fast asleep. They awoke several hours later.
The only problem was that the room in which they were snoozing was the missile alert facility at Minot air force base in North Dakota. Directly beneath them was the underground control centre containing the keys that can launch ballistic missiles, and in their care were metal boxes containing the secret codes that allow the nuclear button to be pressed.
The incident is the latest in a series of foul-ups and poor ratings that is fast turning the Minot air base into the Mr Bean of the air force. Last summer a B-52 bomber was loaded with six air-launched nuclear missiles and flown, unbeknownst to its pilots or crew, across America.
Two months ago the Minot-based 5th Bomb Wing was given a routine inspection by Pentagon investigators and warded an "unacceptable" grade for its procedures in securing nuclear weapons.
The fresh embarrassment dates from July 12 when the three crew members of the 91st Missile Wing allowed themselves to nap while in possession of the classified launch codes. An investigation by their wing that involved officials from the National Security Agency and US Strategic Command found that there had been no threat to the security of the weapons.
The codes that they were guarding had recently been changed, as is periodically the case, and were therefore redundant. The three men were also behind locked doors and no-one else gained entry.
But the assurances will not lessen the sense of disarray within the air force. Last month the defence secretary Robert Gates fired the leadership of the air force following a string of nuclear mishaps, the most serious of which was the inadvertent sale of fusing devices for nuclear missiles to Taiwan. It was 9.30 in the evening. The crew of three air force members decided to rest a little and within 15 minutes they were fast asleep. ... more -
Iran ends cooperation on U.N. nuke probe
VIENNA, Austria - Iran signaled Thursday that it will no longer cooperate with U.N. experts probing for signs of clandestine nuclear weapons work, confirming the investigation is at a dead end a year after it began. VIENNA, Austria - Iran signaled Thursday that it will no longer cooperate with U.N. experts probing for signs of clandestine nuclear w... more
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Don't Fall For Nuclear Power
While the presidential hopefuls trade barbs and accuse each other of flip- flopping, they agree with President Bush on their enthusiastic support for nuclear power.
Sen. John McCain has called for 100 new nuclear power plants. Sen. Barack Obama, in a July 2007 Democratic debate, answered a pro-nuclear power audience member, "I actually think that we should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix."
Among Obama's top contributors are executives of Exelon Corp., a leading nuclear power operator in the nation. Just last week, Exelon released a new plan called "Exelon 2020: A Low-Carbon Roadmap." The nuclear power industry sees global warming as a golden opportunity to sell its insanely expensive and dangerous power plants.
But nuclear power is not a solution to climate change — rather, it causes problems. Amory Lovins is the co-founder and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado. He makes simple, powerful points against nuclear: "The nuclear revival that we often hear about is not actually happening. It is a very carefully fabricated illusion ... there are no buyers. Wall Street is not putting a penny of private capital into the industry, despite 100-plus percent subsidies." He adds: "Basically, we can have as many nuclear plants as Congress can force the taxpayers to pay for. But you won't get any in a market economy."
snip
The presidential hopefuls are wrong on nuclear power. Wind, solar and microgeneration (generating electricity and heat at the same time, in smaller plants), on the other hand, are taking off globally, gaining billions of dollars in private investments. Lovins summarizes: "One of the big reasons we have an oil problem and a climate problem today is we spent our money on the wrong stuff. If we had spent it on efficiency and renewables, those problems would've gone away, and we would've made trillions of dollars' profit on the deal because it's so much cheaper to save energy than to supply it." The answer is blowing in the wind. While the presidential hopefuls trade barbs and accuse each other of flip- flopping, they agree with President Bush on their enthusias... more -
Russian plans to station nuclear bombers in Cuba
The media has been abuzz today at the prospect of Russian nuclear bombers being stationed in Cuba if the US goes ahead with plans for missile defence bases in Eastern Europe.
[for copyright reasons, you'll need to visit the article to read the rest] The media has been abuzz today at the prospect of Russian nuclear bombers being stationed in Cuba if the US goes ahead with plans for ... more -
Loose Nukes
The US Air Force has developed a cultural indifference toward the proper care and handling of nuclear weapons, and analysts say the two men slated to take over the top civilian and uniformed positions will have to make fundamental changes to restore its credibility in the nuclear realm.
When Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced last month that he would replace Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and the chief of staff, Gen. Michael Moseley, Mr. Gates cited their failure to properly safeguard nuclear weapons.
But whatever failures are attributed to Mr. Wynne or General Moseley, analysts say the firings capped more than a decade of negligence by the US military and the Air Force in protecting the American nuclear arsenal.
more@CSM
Remember Barksdale? See link below- The US Air Force has developed a cultural indifference toward the proper care and handling of nuclear weapons, and analysts say the tw... more -
How should the US fight international terrorism?
Aijaz Ahmad: What would a rational American foreign policy look like? Part 5
This is part of a series of planned interviews with journalists, historians, geo-political experts, and politicians asking the question "What would a rational American foreign policy look like?" Aijaz Ahmad: What would a rational American foreign policy look like? Part 5 ... more -
Who can and who can't have nuclear weapons?
Aijaz Ahmad: What would a rational American foreign policy look like? Part 4
Aijaz Ahmad:The Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty was signed by non-nuclear countries on the assumption that there would be a swift move towards disarmament by those that already had them would begin to disarm and even destroy their nuclear stockpiles. Aijaz Ahmad: What would a rational American foreign policy look like? Part 4 ... more -
North Korea agrees to nuclear checks
Negotiators from six-nation talks in China have agreed steps to verify North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
Officials from China, the US, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas, agreed Pyongyang would finish disabling its main nuclear facility by October.
The other nations will complete deliveries of fuel and economic aid ahead of visits by verification teams.
The deal comes after South Korea's leader proposed reviving direct talks with the North in a major policy shift.
(End of excerpt)
Full story at link by BBC News Negotiators from six-nation talks in China have agreed steps to verify North Korea's nuclear disarmament. ... more -
Missile Shield Pact signed by U.S. and Czechs
BERLIN — The United States and the Czech Republic signed a landmark accord Tuesday to allow the Pentagon to deploy part of its widely debated antiballistic missile shield on territory once occupied by Soviet troops.
The accord, the first of its kind to be reached with a Central or East European country, was signed in Prague by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Czech counterpart, Karel Schwarzenberg, despite strong opposition from Russia. It must also be ratified by Czech lawmakers, many of whom oppose it.
Russia warned Tuesday that the accord could lead to a military response, which the Kremlin has previously threatened but never specified.
President Dmitri Medvedev and his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, who is now the Russian prime minister, had told the United States that the Kremlin saw a missile shield in this part of Europe as a threat to Russian security. Mr. Putin said it could even lead to a new Cold War.
But American and Czech officials said the system’s radar component, to be stationed south of Prague, would defend the NATO members in Europe and the United States against long-range weapons from the Middle East, particularly Iran.
“Ballistic missile proliferation is not an imaginary threat,” Ms. Rice said Tuesday after meeting the Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolanek. She said Iran continued toward a nuclear bomb, along with long-range missiles that could carry a warhead.
Full Article: New York Times Online BERLIN — The United States and the Czech Republic signed a landmark accord Tuesday to allow the Pentagon to deploy part of its widely ... more -
Forty years of the NPT
The cornerstone of international peace, the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, is 40 years old today. On the fist day, some 61 countries signed it and now, all but four nations in the world follow its rules which describe a framework to limit nuclear weapons and allow the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The cornerstone of international peace, the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, is 40 years old today. On the fist day, some 61 countrie... more
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Nuclear Weapons
