5 Minutes to Nuclear Midnight

(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)

Sixty-three years ago this week, the United States was the first (and last, so far) nation to use nuclear weapons in war, detonating two warheads in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.This anniversary provides a somber moment to assess the current range of nuclear threats bedeviling international relations and threatening the future, and also to recommit to the work of nuclear disarmament.
The Good News

In a dramatic display, North Korea destroyed a cooling tower at their Yongbyon nuclear complex on June 28th. There is still significant work ahead, but this symbolic gesture is a welcome first step toward the country’s disarmament.

And, closer to home, Congress refused - for a second time - to fund the Bush administration’s demand for a new nuclear weapon system, the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). The program - which would have replaced the core workings of all U.S. nuclear warheads over the next decade - was a lifeline for the nuclear weapons complex.
The Bad News

Stalled disarmament, irresponsible engagement with new and nascent nuclear powers, dangers of nuclear terrorism, ground gained by proponents of nuclear power, billions still being pumped into a nuclear weapons complex: These are just a few of the nuclear knots that still need to be unraveled. Let’s look briefly at each.

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3838/

Frida Berrigan is a senior program associate with the New America Foundation's Arms and Security Initiative and a member of the Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World.

I agree with the activists: nuclear weapons are genocidal, not legitimate war weapons. And that includes DU (depleted uranium) coated shells, tanks and whatever else.

I do hope that this scourge and sword of Damocles is gone before I am, for all our sakes.