Category: StratCom & Nuclear Weapons
Below is the statement that Japanese citizen Nobuko Tsukui delivered at the Lincoln NFP Chapter Annual Lantern Float August 7. Nobuko is a major scholar in the literature written by survivors of the atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki — people who often died after a few years from radiation sickness. Her most recent book, The Atomic Bomb Literature of Japan: an Introduction and Translations, make clear why it is so important for NFP to work for nuclear arms reductions and for stringent congressional controls on StratCom. The English translations in the volume are painful and powerful, but they are also a tribute to humankind's search for meaning. The Atomic Bomb Literature of Japan is available from Nebraskans for Peace for $25.
--Paul Olson
, NFP President
Dear Friends,
I’m honored to be here to greet you tonight.
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After months of delay, the U.S. Senate will vote on ratifying the “New START” Treaty on nuclear weapons in September—just before the fall general election.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Obama Administration are still searching for the 67 votes necessary for ratification, despite the bipartisan backing of virtually every Democratic and Republican foreign policy luminary... the support of all three heads of the nation’s nuclear laboratories... and the endorsement of every former and current StratCom commander.
The votes of both Democratic Senator Ben Nelson and Republican Senator Mike Johanns are crucial for final adoption.
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Paul Olson, President
Nebraskans for Peace
With the anniversary of the first atomic bombings approaching, Nebraskans for Peace believes it is important we remember what happened 65 years ago if we are to keep from repeating history. On August 2, 1945, just as the victorious Allies were concluding their conference in Potsdam, Germany on the post-war division of Europe and readying for the final assault on Japan, Harry Truman reputedly gave the order to drop the atomic bomb. The city of Hiroshima became the first victim of this never-before-used weapon on August 6, and Nagasaki the second, on August 9, three days later. As we commemorate the momentous events at Potsdam, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we take heart from the declarations of our world leaders seeking the total abolition of these Weapons of Mass Destruction and look forward to the prospect of significant reductions in nuclear armaments. Senate ratification of the “New START Treaty” with Russia is an essential next step in ultimately ridding our world of these doomsday weapons.
There are several events taking place in Lincoln and in Omaha for you to choose from. The full description and information can be found on the events page of our website.
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Dan Schlitt
Dan Schlitt is a retired UNL physics professor who has followed issues related to nuclear weapons for 50 years. A founding member of Nebraskans for Peace and active Quaker, he currently sits on the “General Committee of the Friends Committee on National Legislation” and recently served on the Regional Executive Committee and the national Board of the American Friends Service Committee.
The past several months have been very encouraging for those of us who yearn for the end of the threat from nuclear weapons. For three decades we have seen little progress. The current steps are not all we could wish for, but they are steps in the right direction.
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NFP
On April 8 in Prague, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a new nuclear arms reduction agreement—the ‘NEW START’ Treaty. The accord must now be approved by both the U.S. Senate and the Russian Duma before it is binding. Approval by the Senate requires a two-thirds majority vote (67 of the 100 total votes in the body), which will require bipartisan support.
Versions of the following ‘letter to the editor’ outlining Nebraskans for Peace’s position on the treaty recently appeared in both the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star. While the agreement’s arms reduction goals are modest in the extreme, they once again get the world’s two largest nuclear powers back on a course toward abolition.
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