Military meets Medical: Nuclear Weapons Speaking Tour

Col. Richard Klass & Dr. Ira Helfand in Maine April 5 & 6

A Fork in the Road on Nuclear Weapons

A Maine Speaking Tour by Col. Richard Klass and Dr. Ira Helfand

Sponsored by PSR Maine

April 5:

12:30 pm         Portland           USM, Wishcamper Center Rm 133

3:30 pm           Lewiston          Bates College, Chase Hall Lounge

7:30pm            Brunswick       Curtis Memorial Library

April 6: 

12:00 pm         Waterville        The Center, 93 Main St.

3:00 pm           Orono              University of Maine, Little Hall, Rm 120

A recent TV documentary featured Portland as the site of a nuclear “dirty bomb” detonation. Top intelligence officials are “certain” that terrorists will attempt an attack on the U.S. in the next six months. Has nuclear terrorism become a bigger threat to global security than conventional nuclear weapons? Colonel Richard Klass (USAF, ret.) of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and Dr. Ira Helfand of Physicians for Social Responsibility will be in Maine April 5 & 6 to provide medical and military perspectives on this question and other nuclear security issues.

Klass and Helfand’s presentation, A Fork in the Road on Nuclear Weapons: Which Path to Security?, will discuss the potential impact of nuclear terrorism, the notion of nuclear ‘deterrence’ and the diplomacy that the Obama administration is employing to curb nuclear weapons proliferation. Treaties including the START with Russia and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty will be up for Senate ratification in the next year. Maine Senators Collins and Snowe will have deciding votes.

Colonel Richard Klass served in the U.S. Air Force for over 22 years, retiring in 1980. His decorations include the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, and Purple Heart. Colonel Klass currently serves as Executive Director for the Veterans’ Alliance for Security and Democracy (VETPAC). He lives in Arlington, VA.

Ira Helfand, M.D. is a Specialist in Emergency Medicine in Springfield MA and a co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). Dr. Helfand has published widely on the medical implications of nuclear explosions and has provided congressional testimony on developing systems to better respond to medical disasters.