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Nuclear Weapons Abolition -
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"Yes We Can" and "I need your help" became the mantras of the Barack Obama Campaign. Yes, our new President for 2009 - 2013 will have four years with our help, our people power, to change directions. The most urgent issues that deeply affect the United States' economics are the need to abolish nuclear weapons, stop waging wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and alleviate the tensions diplomatically with Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Changing directions must include a new means to the ends, that is the way of nonviolence, the intentional partnerships with nations rather than empire building. The costly military industrial complex must be converted into the civilian, life-giving, peace-making complex. Foreign policy decisions and world security provisions abound with challenging opportunities.
Barack Obama has made serious promises and set some positive statements with goals: 1) to seek a world with no nuclear weapons by securing all loose nuclear materials, stopping the development of nuclear weapons (e.g.. no Reliable Replaceable Weapons), taking ballistic missiles off high trigger alert and expanding the ban on intermediate-range missiles while working to ban the global production of new nuclear weapon material. 2) to build bipartisan consensus behind the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). 3) to strengthen the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) (Material of positions taken from Disarmament Times, Fall 2008, pp. 4,5)
We hope also to move this next Administration to diplomatic relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan rather than planned escalation of war and to stop the radar system in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Europe.
What help must we give? As we reflected on these promises , we conclude : In this democracy the help we must give is our help for total disarmament of nuclear weapons in the United States and leadership for other nuclear weapons nations to do the same. We must stop our arms sales and funding for military ventures to other nations along with our continual war-making in any nation ever again. Wars and the killing of people and injury to Earth will never be a way to peace. We must build unity among all peoples and support an economy that benefits all people for obtaining their basic human needs. All violences are connected to this taproot of nuclear violence. Nuclearism keeps the United States a superpower (although , also causing its ongoing deterioration). It is a threat to ourselves and sisters and brothers throughout the world. Are we not all on nuclear death row? Is not the path one of omnicidal self-destruction since 35 more nations have the capacity and felt-need to get into the race for self protection to hold the balance of power? WE BELIEVE SO!
The Blix Commission, Middle Power Initiative delegates, Canberra Commission believe so! The Kissinger, Nunn, Perry, Schultz Committees understand the danger. Fr. Miguel d'Escoto of Nicaragua, now President of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament of the United Nations stated, "General and complete disarmament is one of the ultimate objectives of the U.N. " World Security Institute is calling for "Global Zero" and will lead a campaign to help bring it about. Pope Benedict XVI made a strong plea for a "progressive and mutually agreed dismantling of existing nuclear weapons." Let us hold the Church accountable!
Model treaties have been recorded by Australian and Malaysian governments, by lawyers and physician groups. Clusters of countries have passed nuclear-free positions. Nobel laureates, mayors, city councils, religious congregations, numerous political leaders, Hibakusha, retired admirals and generals, renowned scientists, Catholic Worker communities, plowshare activists, artisans, poets, musicians, etc. are active in this struggle. All of us are in the circle by our prayer, legal, political and direct action. "We the people", by our praying, researching, writing, preaching, fundraising, organizing, coalitioning, keeping the internet and web sites alive, risking imprisonment, living more simply, must create the kind of peace with justice for which the world yearns and future generations deserve.
We are the people who help bring about the change, the urgent time is now. The issue of upholding Article VI of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty to decommission, disarm and dismantle all nuclear weapons in all of its aspects is an obligation. The banning of war forever is a possibility. "Yes we can." Let us unite for the causes!