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I am just arriving in Switzerland, a stunningly beautiful country, travelling from the Zurich airport through well manicured countryside to the site of the 19th World Congress of International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in Basel. The Swiss rail system is well organized; the train ride is smooth and fast. I am confident the Congress, the first plenary session of which begins tomorrow, will be equally well organized. All indications are for the largest attendance in many years. It will be wonderful to gather there with colleagues from around the world.
The one major problem is this: the primary goal of this gathering is to advance toward nuclear abolition. And progress toward that goal has been neither smooth nor fast.
What is the major challenge to progress? All eyes are on the U.S. Senate, where a minority of stubborn Senators still clinging to outmoded Cold War thinking threatens to block ratification of the New START agreement.
Our international colleagues are eager to help advance the cause, both through meetings with U.S. embassies in their own countries and building international support for elimination of nuclear weapons. However, as exciting as it is to be reminded of the global consensus that we will all be safer and more secure with fewer nuclear weapons in the world, I also know that it is up to us in the U.S. to secure ratification of New START.
It is true that all key current U.S. military leaders, plus six former secretaries of state, five former secretaries of defense and seven former commanders of U.S. nuclear forces have endorsed the treaty. Yet this isn’t quite enough to put us over the top. We still have our work cut out for us over the next few weeks, leading up to a currently scheduled vote in the Senate on New START in mid-September. One more round of letters-to-the-editor and calls to Senate offices by PSR advocates is needed.
This week, many PSR leaders are participating in this exciting IPPNW World Congress. We will return, inspired and reinvigorated, to rejoin the U.S. effort to secure New START ratification, the crucial next step toward the enhanced security of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Tell Congress to approve a budget that pushes the Administration to make a bold reduction in our nuclear arsenal.
50 years ago this week, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of a cataclysmic nuclear war. Today, you can help ensure that the lessons of this crisis are not forgotten by writing a letter to the editor.
Nuclear Famine: A Billion People at Risk
The newly generated data on the decline in agricultural production that would follow a limited, regional nuclear war in South Asia support the concern that more than one billion people would be in danger of starvation. Epidemic disease and further conflict spawned by such a famine would put additional hundreds of millions at risk. Read more »
Shock and Awe Hits Home
The military operational costs of the war in Iraq, now greater than $500 billion, have surpassed those for the entire Vietnam conflict. These escalating operational costs are alarming, yet the long-term public health costs will be much greater. Read more »
Video: Nukes, Militarism and Public Health
Interview with PSR board member Dr. Andy Kanter. Read more »
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Martin is indeed here. I am sure we can look out for an email address :)
August 26, 2010Is Martin Vossler there? How can i contact him?
August 26, 2010