Tag Archives: Arms Control Association

UN Chief Warns Humanity Is ‘Unacceptably Close to Nuclear Annihilation’

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“Now is the time to lift the cloud of nuclear conflict for good,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said ahead of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-26=2021

ICAN campaigners protest outside the permanent mission of Japan to the United Nations at Geneva, during the May session of the UN open-ended working group on nuclear disarmament in May 2016. Photo: ICAN/flickr/CC

In remarks ahead of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that humankind remains “unacceptably close to nuclear annihilation,” with roughly 14,000 atomic bombs stockpiled across the globe.

“Now is the time to lift the cloud of nuclear conflict for good, eliminate nuclear weapons from our world, and usher in a new era of trust and peace,” said Guterres, who observed in a statement last week that hundreds of nuclear bombs are just a “pushed button away from being launched.” Continue reading →

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Bringing Back ‘Archaic and Gruesome Weapons,’ Trump Reverses US Restrictions on Landmines

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“The United States is doing a 180 on the near-global consensus to ban the abhorrent and inhumane use of landmines.”

By Andrea Germanos, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 1-31-2020

Pita Roque, a land mine victim in Mozambique. Photo: Ton Rulkens/CC

The Trump administration announced Friday that it was officially rolling back restrictions on the U.S. military’s ability to use landmines.

“In case you didn’t know, because they’re from one of the most draconian chapters of 20th century, the victims of landmines are mostly innocent civilians and especially children,” said immigration attorney Curtis Morrison. Continue reading →

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Arms Expert Warns of ‘Reckless and Unnecessary Escalation’ After Pentagon Tests Missile Banned by INF Treaty That Trump Ditched

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The move could “exacerbate tensions with Russia, China, and North Korea—all of whom would be in range of this type of missile.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 12-13-2019

The Pentagon conducted a flight test of a prototype conventionally-configured ground-launched ballistic missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 12. (Photo: Vandenberg Air Force Base)

Arms experts warned of negative global implications after the Pentagon on Thursday test-launched a second missile that would have been banned under a Cold War-era treaty that U.S. President Donald Trump ditched in early August.

Trump ignored concerns about the impacts on global security and formally withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty after suspending U.S. obligations under the deal in February and giving Russian President Vladimir Putin six months to destroy weapons that the U.S. government and NATO deemed noncompliant with the bilateral agreement. The deal outlawed land-launched missiles with a range of 500–5,500 kilometers or about 310–3,400 miles. Continue reading →

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So-Called “Limited” Nuclear War Would Actually Be Very Bad and Kill Tens of Millions, Warns New Report

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“We urgently need sensible action to reduce and eliminate nuclear risk.”

By Eoin Higgins, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-17-2019

A nuclear war would kill millions of people, a new report reminds the Pentagon. (Photo: Department of Energy/cc)

Even a limited nuclear war would be catastrophic and kill millions, a new study finds, despite the belief of the Pentagon that the U.S. military could effectively and safely use nuclear weapons in a conflict.

The report, which Princeton University’s Science and Global Security Lab presents in video form, affirms the position of anti-nuclear war activists that no use of nuclear weapons is sensible—or safe. Continue reading →

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‘Bolton Gonna Bolton’: Trump’s National Security Adviser Pushing to Ditch Nuclear Arms Treaty With Russia

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Critics warn that “withdrawal would be stupid and reckless.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 10-19-2018

President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton is reportedly seeking to ditch a Cold War-era treaty with Russia focusing on nuclear arms control. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)

President Donald Trump’s notorious warmonger of a national security adviser, John Bolton, reportedly “is pushing for the U.S. to withdraw from a Cold War-era arms control treaty with Russia,” a move that critics denounced as a “stupid and reckless” mistake that would fuel nuclear weapons production, alienate allies, and increase the threat of conflict.

Despite resistance within the administration and from key allies abroad, Bolton wants the United States to bail on the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) on the grounds that Russia is violating the agreement, sources briefed on the effort told the Guardian. Continue reading →

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