"Nuclear Posture Review" And Japan's Role

Nuclear Posture Review. This is our chance to urge President Obama to set a new, safer direction for nuclear weapons policy. Do your google, it is all there.

April 12-13, 2010 there will be an official Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC. I'm happy to see that Union of Concerned Scientists and the Ploughshares Fund will attend. There are many others, but it is difficult to assess their real agenda.

I think this event should also have the Hiroshima and Nagasaki perspective. It seems to be lacking. Peace groups may be strong in Japan but they have difficulties to make their voice heard abroad. I do hope participants in Washington DC will not forget to mention the 1945 bombings of civilians in Japan, with the US atomic bombs, of both the uranium (Hiroshima) and plutonium (Nagasaki) types.

Do invite people who survived the atomic bombing in 1945 to speak at the April 12-13 event in the US.

Those who survived, and are still alive, are very vocal and clear about the urgent task - get rid of nuclear weapons.

Fact Sheet: 2010 Nuclear Posture Review

Here is a quote from Union of Concerned Scientists, a US think thank that has for a long time battled issues like nuclear energy, nuclear weapons, and "global security."

On September 22, 2009, thirteen U.S. security experts released an open letter to President Obama and newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama asking them to support changes in U.S. nuclear weapons policy while reaffirming the U.S.-Japanese alliance. The two leaders will be in New York to attend a session on nuclear proliferation issues at the United Nations and are planning to meet for the first time on September 23.

The signatories on the letter include Ambassador George Bunn, former U.S. ambassador to the International Conference on Disarmament in Geneva; Morton Halperin, former director of policy planning staff at the State Department; and Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Last Revised: 09/22/09

Open letter (English) pdf

Open letter (Japanese) pdf

Some 12 years ago, I was fortunate enough to exchange views and share opinions with the UCS experts on food & agriculture and the threat of genetic engineering. That inspiration and their personal engagement meant a lot to me, at the time. When intelligent people take a stand against evil, it makes a difference.

The Obama nuclear summit is just a couple of weeks from today.

Are we going to wait until the last minute before mainstream media starts reporting about it?

The Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, of Dmitri Shostakovich is a symphony for orchestra composed between April and July 1937. Bernstein conducts, as if his life is on the line in New York, 1979. Worried what Stalin might think, Shostakovich withdrew his 4th Symphony. Then, he composed this masterpiece. What are you worried about? What are we afraid of?

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