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Ending the threat of nuclear war
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More from OpinionSixty-three years ago this week, war became obsolete in man's quest to resolve conflict. Aug. 6, 1945, and Aug. 9, 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, were destroyed by the first atomic weapons used in war. The weapons instantly killed 90,000 and 40,000 people, respectively, and caused the deaths of 200,000 by the end of 1945, and an additional tens of thousands more over the next years.
From that week to the present, the fate of life as we know it has been held in the balance. Whether by accident or design, the threat of a nuclear-weapon-caused disaster with its aftermath remains the greatest threat to our world.
The complete elimination of these weapons remains the only safeguard against that ultimate doomsday scenario. Far from impossible, there are tremendous efforts taking place to make this vision possible. Beginning with the work of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (http://www.ippnw.org) and its American affiliate Physicians for Social Responsibility (http://www.psr.org) in the early 1960s, they confirmed the human health effects of nuclear testing and the nonsurvivability and futility of medical response to a nuclear attack.
To the present day, their efforts, — educational, research and legislative — have been typified by the medical mantra of "prevent what we cannot cure." Their work has provided the impetus for many of the efforts that have followed. In 1982, at the second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament, then-Mayor Takeshi Araki of Hiroshima proposed a new "Program to Promote the Solidarity of Cities toward the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons."
This proposal offered cities a way to transcend national borders and work together to press for nuclear abolition. Subsequently, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki called on mayors around the world to support this program. The Mayors for Peace is composed of cities around the world that have formally expressed support for the program, Mayor Araki announced in 1982.
Membership now stands at 2,368 cities in 131 countries and regions. In 2003, the Mayors for Peace put forth a challenge to the world, called 2020 Vision. This campaign calls on the leaders and people of the world to take the necessary steps to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020.
In 2003, then-Santa Paula Mayor Gabino Aguirre was the only U.S. mayor to attend the initial planning talks at the United Nations. Today, 72 U.S. mayors and 603 international cities are signatories to the campaign. Ventura County — with the cities of Ventura, Santa Paula, Oxnard and Ojai as signatories — has more cities represented than any U.S. county.
In January 2007, a courageous bipartisan group of military and defense experts joined the effort. That group, headed by former Sen. Sam Nunn, boldly called on the U.S. to take the necessary steps to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide. Its project called Nuclear Security Project, under the auspices of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (http://www.nti.org), works to build consensus for their efforts. It has produced a factual docudrama titled "Last Best Chance" to engage, inform and stimulate the global citizenry.
A coalition group called Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World (http://www.nuclearweaponsfree.org) provides the opportunity for groups and individuals to sign on in support of the hard work and vision of a world without nuclear weapons.
Beyond War (http://www.beyondwar.org) is a nonpartisan, grass-roots group that articulates the reality that in a world with nuclear stockpiles containing 330,000 times the firepower of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, war itself is obsolete, not extinct.
Recognizing that conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional, mankind itself is threatened with extinction if we think we can continue to wage war and survive. Simply eliminating nuclear weapons will not be enough.
Realizing we are one human species on this planet, Beyond War works collectively to identify and support the "best practice" models that have been used through history to resolve conflict. The newly formed Beyond War Nuclear Weapons Abolition Action Team will apply those same principles in its efforts.
"I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."
This quote by President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1959 speaks truths to this day. People and communities around the world are standing up and making their voices heard. Ventura will become the first city in Ventura County to have a public "Peace Garden." This public space for peace with a central peace pole will be dedicated Saturday in Plaza Park.
Joining more than 200,000 installations around the world, including the Pentagon and United Nations, Ventura's Peace Pole, with its message of "May Peace Prevail on Earth," will be in eight languages. These include English, Spanish, Japanese, Ventura variant of Chumash called Ventureno, Arabic, Hindi, Vietnamese and Persian.
This pole has been donated by the Ventura Beyond War team, Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions, Peace Coalition of Greater Ventura and Veterans for Peace. In this week of remembrance and dedication, we are faced with tremendous challenges and opportunities. We are reminded of the corollary to President Eisenhower's statement: "When the people lead, the leaders will follow. "
We may indeed reflect on this period in time as "The Last Best Chance."
— Robert F. Dodge, M.D., of Ventura is president of Ventura County Physicians for Social Responsibility; co-chairman of Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions and board member of Beyond War.
Posted by mikeb6804 on August 6, 2008 at 12:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Without even reading much of the editorial, I knew where it came from. Dr. Dodge certainly gets his 15 seconds, doesn't he? I have no problem getting rid of nuclear weapons (and I grew up in Los Alamos) as long as everybody does it before us or all countries do it simultaneously. Judging by the progress made with North Korea and Iran, it's going to take a long, long time.
Posted by nelsonknows on August 6, 2008 at 4:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Mike, my father was on the U.S.S. Cumberland Sound during the Able and Baker nuclear tests at Bikini Island. That was after he had fought the Japanese in WW2. I agree with you sentiments.
Mr. Dodge, I am the 3rd generation in my family to have served and fought for this country and after being in combat, like my father and his father before, I believe war is a disgusting, ugly business that no human being should ever have to participate in but so long as there is one person who is willing to take what someone else has, or willing to murder or subjugate, there will always be war. Also sir, there will also have to be someone willing to stand up for the lives and rights of people that cannot stand for themselves and against anyone who would be willing to use weapons against those who would oppose their evil. Unfortunately, you cannot deter those with such weapons without having such weapons of your own and the threat that you might use them if necessary. Nuclear weapons are an ugly fact of life on this planet and will continue to be so, probably until someone invents a more devastating weapon which is just a sad fact of life.
Posted by shaver_one on August 6, 2008 at 7:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
mike:
I must also agree with you.
My father-in-law, an Atomic Vet, was at Bikini during Operation Crossroads. He died because of it. My wife and her siblings were among the fist Atomic Babies born out of that experience.
The genie is out of the bottle. And, unless EVERYONE puts it back, at the same time, that genie will still be floating above our heads.
But, hey...You don't need nuclear weapons, these days. Just send some crazed religious zealot (Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, take your pick) wearing a suicide vest, to any nuclear power plant.
Posted by sslocal on August 6, 2008 at 1:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We, mankind, have been killing each other since there were two of us. While it ain't nice nor disired, we still do it and will continue to do it till we are all gone.
All the peace parks in the world will not stop it.
Posted by cassandra2 on August 6, 2008 at 4:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Of course we must continue to have nuclear weapons to defend against enemies who have them. This is basic self defense. Unilateral disarmament doesn't make anyone safer.
We have nukes. The Israeli have nukes. Oh, gee whiz, Iran may want them. And the US and Israel repeatedly threaten war against Iran. Even suggesting faking an attack under false flag in the gulf of Hormuz. And the US has already launched devastating, unprovoked attack and invasion against a neighboring state under false pretenses. Ditto the Israeli vis-a-vis neighboring Lebanon, destroying their infrastructure, killing 1000 of their people, taking out a UN post, and leaving behind thousands of cute little cluster bombs for the kids to play with. All because 2 soldiers were kidnapped and now it seems killed. Who are the crazies again?
Why wouldn't Iran want nukes? They'd have to be nuts NOT to want nukes.
Why have we the right of self-defensive arming and they don't?
Posted by sslocal on August 6, 2008 at 5:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh good lord. We have them but we only used them once. We don't want the folks that are currently providing aid and comfort to the enemy to have them. That is just stupid.
As for the Izzie's, well, if I lived there I would be a bit on the aggressive side too. Nothing screws up your day more than having some nut blow up the bus your mother/son/daughter/father/whoever was riding on. Nither us nor the Izzie's do this.
(Notice I didn't attack you even though your post indicates a profound lack of respect for the US and it's allies)
Posted by cassandra2 on August 6, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No, if one has an air force or the US taxpayer to underwrite your armaments, you don't need desperate souls to blow up buses. You can instead murder them more sanitarily with missiles and tanks and bombs.
Look at the body count. How many Palestinians die at the hand of Israel relative to the number the suicide bombers and scattered missiles take out. Look at the number of kidnapped i.e. arrested, Palestinians compared to Israeli. And there is the matter of bogarting land and water by the Israeli and the bulldozing of their homes for the wall and all the rest. Forget the propaganda and look at the stats.
How would you feel about an occupying power killing your neighbors to get at some Hamas biggie. Or separating you from your livleihood with restrictions and making you life hell because you are unfortunate enough to be their neighbor?
And there was the matter of Lebanon. Again. There is just no excuse for this callous destruction of life and property.
Right now, we are threatening Iran. The Israeli are threatening Iran. They are the ones in need of defense. Every day the swords are rattling. They need any kind of defense they can summon from the crazies that now control our government and have shown themselves incapable of restraint or honesty or decency. I hope to blazes they get nukes so that we don't have another war on our hands. This admin. only attacks disarmed nations, not ones who can fight back.
Posted by cassandra2 on August 6, 2008 at 6:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Notice I didn't attack you either.
Posted by mikeb6804 on August 6, 2008 at 6:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Cassie--you did it again. Attack or not, your views are totally stupid. You are just a far left indoctrinated America hater. Why don't you move to Iran?
Posted by sslocal on August 6, 2008 at 8:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, for one thing I think I would move someplace else.
Posted by nelsonknows on August 6, 2008 at 9:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
mike, ss, it never changes with far left America haters, they keep promising to leave each time a Republican wins the White House but they never hold up to their promise, instead they want to drag the rest of the country down to their level.
This Bush Derangement syndrome is just a symptom of being a sociopath and too many on the left are just that, sociopaths.
Posted by nelsonknows on August 6, 2008 at 9:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
shaver, show me ONCE when a Christian or Jew has donned a vest filled with explosives, committed suicide and murdered innocents or hijacked an airplane and flown it into a building.
Posted by nelsonknows on August 6, 2008 at 9:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Now watch the predictability of shaver's response claiming the U.S. and Israel has killed so many innocent people with their bombs and such, and it's all G.W. Bush's fault.
Posted by del on August 7, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hello pot, hello kettle.
Posted by dingo_designs on August 7, 2008 at 12:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How do these discussions get so far off track? How on earth could anyone be against their government protecting them? That's just crazy!
Posted by del on August 7, 2008 at 5:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We have only our wits and the Constitution to protect us against our own government. And they subvert the Constitution if we are not diligent.
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