It seems a little strange returning to Japan after 23 years. I attended the Ninth World Congress of IPPNW which was held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1989. I was a medical student at the time. I had been Medical Student Liaison for IPPNW in 1985 when we won the Nobel Peace Prize, but it had been several years since I left the central office and was nearing the end of my medical school training. IPPNW still meant a lot to me and I endeavored to make the protection of the planet one of my primary goals in life. Read more »
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More than four decades ago, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entered into force. Its implementation is still faced with legitimate critics from non-nuclear weapons states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the basis that nuclear weapons states are not doing enough to advance the debate on disarmament. Read more »

A hundred and fifty of us gathered on Sunday night, Aug. 5, at Ashley Pond in Los Alamos, New Mexico, at the exact spot where long ago the Hiroshima Bomb was built. Right at 5:15 p.m -- 8:15 a.m. Monday morning, Aug. 6 in Japan -- we heard live, thanks to the wonders of the Internet, the ringing of the Peace Bell in Hiroshima. Read more »

On Tuesday (June 12th), the Obama Administration alleged that Russia is sending attack helicopters to President Bashar Assad's regime and warned that the Arab country's 15-month conflict could become even deadlier. Read more »
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In the past few days, we have seen promising signs that the P5 + 1 and Iran are close to an agreement on Iran’s dual-use nuclear program. Read more »
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In recent weeks, we have all been reminded why the conclusions of PSR's Nuclear Famine Report are a real and present danger. Read more »

A new IPPNW study released today at the annual Nobel Peace Laureates Summit in Chicago offers compelling scientific evidence that most of the nuclear arsenals in the world —whether large or small—threaten everyone on Earth. The consequences for global agriculture of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, for example, would be so severe and long lasting that we must now fundamentally change our thinking about nuclear weapons and redouble our efforts to eliminate them, according to the study’s author, Ira Helfand. Read more »
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On February 8, 2012, Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to introduce the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act (H.R. 3974). This SANE Act would cut $100 billion from the U.S. nuclear weapons budget over the next ten years by reducing the current fleet of U.S. nuclear submarines, delaying the purchase of new nuclear submarines, reducing the number of ICBMs, delaying a new bomber program, and ending the nuclear mission of air bombers. Read more »
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The reality is that one nuclear weapon can destroy the core of a city from blast, heat and radiation and kill hundreds of thousands of individuals. Such a detonation would create a dead zone of radiation making the area uninhabitable for decades or longer. Many more people would die in panic fleeing or from lack of any medical support. Read more »

As a Nigerian doctor active with IPPNW, I am pleased to participate for a second time in twelve months in the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Preparatory Committee talks at the United Nations in New York. Read more »

New to the world of Washington, DC, I can see that much of the action is outside the Beltway even with the budget debate coming up in the Halls of Congress. That means YOU are the most important people. Read more »
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Many years from now when the history of our time is written, some may reflect that a small but meaningful step that preserved our world was taken this week. In the US, the event passed with little notice. Read more »
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Yesterday was my first day at the 2011 American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference. This conference hosts over 12,000 public health professionals and is always a bit overwhelming at first. Read more »
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Before the end of the year the Super Committee will be required to submit plans to cut at least $1.5 trillion in deficit-reduction measures over the next 10 years. What we decide to cut will speak to our priorities as a country. Read more »
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Today, 10 years later, I remember the fear, the uncertainty, and those who lost their lives on September 11th. I wish I could say the fear and the uncertainty has disappeared. On Thursday, after President Obama’s address to Congress, information of a “specific, credible, but unconfirmed” threat were made public. Living in Washington DC, I am worried about what someone may do on the anniversary of September 11th. Mixed in that worry is no longer simply the fear of an attack but, also, how our country may change in the shadow of another act of terrorism. Read more »

Should the U.S. government be building more nuclear weapons? Residents of Kansas City, Missouri don’t appear to think so, for they are engaged in a bitter fight against the construction of a new nuclear weapons plant in their community. Read more »
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Yesterday, McClatchy reported on a cable from the recent WikiLeaks release of diplomatic cables. In the cable is evidence that disputes the United States official story. U.S. trained Iraqi police, neighbors, and a doctor’s inspection of the 10 civilians present a very different picture. Read more »

On March 15, 2006, American troops approached a house around 2:30 AM in Ishaqi to apprehend a potential Al Qaida in Iraq suspect. Read more »

The Aug. 29th Washington Post article “Syrian unrest raises fears about chemical arsenal” by Pulitzer Prize winning author Joby Warrick raises a key national security question for the United States. Will we pursue an arms control or arms proliferation foreign policy in the 21st century? Read more »
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Yesterday afternoon, like many people in DC (and up and down the East Coast), I experienced the jarring reality of a moderate earthquake. It was a scary moment up high in our office tower. Sadly, at that same moment, many people feared that instead of a natural disaster, we were facing a man-made tragedy. Read more »
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