WORLD HONORS 75TH ANNIVERSARIES OF U.S. BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
On August 6 and 9, the world came together to acknowledge the victims and survivors of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 75 years after two atomic bombs killed an estimated 200,000 people. The Center was proud to join a coalition of more than 160 other organizations to participate in a massive virtual event each day featuring frontline communities most affected by nuclear weapons production and use. If you missed the online event, you can watch the videos of each day on YouTube. Right now, only the full-day videos are live, but videos of individual segments will be uploaded over the next few days. Be sure to read stories of all types of nuclear survivors on the coalition’s website.
In honor of the anniversaries, the Center re-released a podcast episode featuring an interview with the daughter of a Hibakusha — a survivor of the attack on Hiroshima. Also, Executive Director John Tierney spoke with SkyNews (Australia) about the need for U.S. political leaders to work toward reducing nuclear threats; Research Analyst Samuel Hickey spoke with TRT World Now (Turkey) about the nuclear threats that still exist; and Senior Policy Director Alexandra Bell spoke with Foreign Policy about the legacy of the bombings and lessons we must learn from the past.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AMPS UP EFFORTS TO SABOTAGE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
The Trump administration, which needlessly and recklessly withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, is continuing its efforts to abolish the deal altogether, despite the desire of the remaining parties to keep the deal in effect. Last week, the administration tried to introduce a doomed-to-fail resolution to extend a United Nations (UN) arms embargo on Iran, which expires in October under the nuclear deal. This resolution failed overwhelmingly. Now, it is being reported that the administration intends to begin the highly controversial process to snap back sanctions against Iran this coming week. There are legal questions about whether the United States can actually do this since withdrawing from the deal.
Barring some heroic diplomatic work by the Europeans, international tensions will increase as the United States attempts to pull off legal jujitsu at the UN Security Council and collapse the nuclear deal. Research Analyst Samuel Hickey explains the strategy behind, and potential consequences of, these efforts.
PENTAGON BUDGET BATTLE UNLIKELY TO END BEFORE ELECTION
The House and Senate will have to find common ground on several issues when negotiating the final version of the $740.5 billion defense bill. There are myriad policy differences between the two versions of the bill, including funding for explosive nuclear weapons testing, support for continued arms control, and required reports on various countries’ nuclear programs. It is unlikely that these issues will be resolved before the November election. President Trump has already threatened to veto the bill if provisions that would mandate changing the names of U.S. military bases named after Confederate generals make it into the compromise bill.
NEW PODCAST EPISODE SHOWCASES HORRORS OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Mariwan Hama was 8 years old when he was a victim of a chemical weapons attack. It was 1988, during the closing days of the Iran-Iraq War, and the Iraqi military gassed ethnic Kurdish civilians in their own country with a lethal cocktail of mustard gas, sarin and VX nerve agents in what would become known as the Halabja Massacre. In this special episode, Center Senior Science Fellow John Gilbert speaks with Mariwan about his experience and thoughts on chemical weapons use today. Listen now and subscribe to Nukes of Hazard wherever you get your podcasts.
NEW START AGREEMENT NEARING EXPIRATION
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and Russia is set to expire in February unless the United States extends it for up to five years. If allowed to expire, there will be no constraints on the world’s two biggest nuclear arsenals for the first time in nearly 50 years. Senior Policy Director Alexandra Bell explains the dire situation letting this treaty lapse would put the world in and discusses the current potential for nuclear accidents on The State of Things from Blue Ridge Public Radio.
WHAT ELSE?
Goldsboro once almost became a Hiroshima. The US must keep reducing nuclear weapons, writes Research Analyst Samuel Hickey in the Raleigh News & Observer.
Multiple Reentry Vehicle Tests of Minuteman III Uncommon, featuring Policy Analyst Geoff Wilson.
Shifting the Nuclear Narrative, writes Paul Castleman Fellow Erin Connolly about shifting the conversation about nuclear weapons from deterrence to disarmament.
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