Posted on 07/17/2003 10:18:27 AM PDT by Paraclete
Published Thursday
July 17, 2003
Nuclear meeting could be volatile
BY ROBYNN TYSVER
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| WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER |
The nation's top nuclear scientists and experts will gather next month at Offutt Air Force Base to discuss the future of the nation's nuclear arsenal.
The Aug. 7 meeting has galvanized the region's anti-nuke community into action.
Leaders say at least 1,000 protesters are expected to descend on Omaha Aug. 1 to 3 to protest proposals to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons.
There will be speeches from four survivors of Hiroshima, a concert from independent rocker Michelle Shocked and a "peaceful" protest at Offutt.
Buses and vans are expected to come from Kansas, Des Moines and Minneapolis.
"We are framing this at least as a regional event, if not an international event," said Josh Cramer, a Lincoln peace activist who is organizing the event called "Speak Out at Stratcom."
The protest grew out of documents leaked last month that showed officials had been planning for almost a year a top-level meeting at Offutt, the home of the nation's nuclear command, to discuss possible new weapons, such as mini-nukes and neutron bombs.
The meeting was first revealed by the Los Alamos Study Group. The pro-disarmament group obtained minutes of a January meeting at the Pentagon that said Admiral James O. Ellis Jr., commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, would host the meeting.
Offutt is home of the Strategic Command, which oversees the nation's nuclear weapons on land, sea and in the air.
"It's the whole enchilada, this meeting. Anybody who is anybody in nuclear weapons will be there," said Greg Mello, a spokesman for the Study Group.
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the scheduled meeting, saying officials with the department and the National Nuclear Security Administration, scientists from the nation's two nuclear laboratories and other nuclear experts would be present.
"The purpose of the meeting is to discuss issues regarding the current status and future projections concerning the U.S. nuclear arsenal," a department statement said.
The meeting is significant in the context of the debate raging in the nuclear community, said Robert Nelson, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, which promotes studies on international affairs and publishes the Foreign Affairs journal.
There are some in the military and in President George W. Bush's administration who believe there is a need to develop new nuclear weapons, such a mini-nukes that, they argue, could be used to destroy underground bunkers and biological and chemical weapons.
They want options beyond the high-level nuclear weapons, Nelson said.
"There is a general belief that only through a strong and credible nuclear deterrent can we maintain our long-term security," Nelson said.
The Nuclear Weapons Council, made up of Defense and Energy Department officials, has ordered a three-year study of potential nuclear bunker busters.
However, the plan got a setback this week when a House committee eliminated much of the money sought by the Bush administration to research new nuclear weapons.
Officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration have promised to fight the proposed cut.
Opponents of nuclear proliferation argue that the development of new nuclear weapons will generate an arms race and obliterate the line between nuclear and conventional warfare. They say mini-nukes will be easier to use in small-scale wars such as Iraq.
"This is a very dangerous road to be going down, especially at a time when we're dealing with nonproliferation problems like North Korea and Iran," said Kathy Crandall of the British American Security Information Council.
"If this happens, we will be letting the nuclear genie out of the bottle," said Tim Rinne of Nebraskans for Peace, a major organization behind the three-day protest.
Groups involved in the three-day protest include Nebraskans for Peace, Nebraska Green Party, Lancaster County Democrats, ACT to Stop War Coalition and Central Nebraska Peace Workers.
Sorry Tim, the genie has been out of the bottle for a long time. Has this guy been asleep for the past 50 years?
Just asking!
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Isn't that the Republican way. If it gives seasoned citizens the free prescriptions or Teddy Kennedy the school money, etc why would this be any different.
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