Should We Fear Nuclear Submarine Proliferation?
Evil is in the eye of the beholder
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarães Capt. (ret.) Brazilian Navy*
RIO DE JANEIRO, 11 May 2023 (IDN) — The potential cause-effect relationship between nuclear attack submarine development and nuclear weapons production by Non-Proliferation Treaty/nonnuclear-weapons states is a subject that has been scarcely discussed in unclassified sources until the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS), announced on 15 September 2021 for the Indo-Pacific region. [P 04] JAPANESE
Is Peace Possible in Ukraine?
By Sergio Duarte
The writer is a former UN High Representative for Disarmament.
NEW YORK, 9 May 2023 (IDN) — Under the inspiration of the five powers that won World War II, the United Nations Charter was adopted in 1945 with the objective of regulating international relations and preventing war. Its Preamble expresses “the determination of the peoples of the United Nations to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”.
The G7 Hiroshima Summit, the Ukraine Crisis and No First Use of Nuclear Weapons
Viewpoint by Daisaku Ikeda
The following is the text of the statement by peacebuilder and Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda, who is president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). Source: Soka Gakkai.
TOKYO, 27 April 2023 (IDN) — The Ukraine crisis, which in addition to bringing devastation to the people of that country has had severe impacts on a global scale—even giving rise to the specter of nuclear weapons use—has entered its second year. Against this backdrop and amid urgent calls for resolution, the G7 Summit of leading industrial nations will be held in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19 to 21.
Daniel Ellsberg—A Profound Voice Against the Doomsday Machine
By Judith Ehrlich*
BERKELEY, California, USA, 27 April 2023 (IDN) — The current Daniel Ellsberg Week celebrates the achievements and inspirational spirit of the most significant whistleblower of the 20th century. Daniel Ellsberg’s recent announcement of a terminal diagnosis broke my heart, but his remarkable response gave me great hope.
UN Impotent as North Korean Nuclear Caravan Moves On
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, 22 April 2023 (IDN) — A 2.0 updated version of an old Middle Eastern proverb reads: The dogs bark, but the North Korean nuclear caravan continues to move on.
The intercontinental ballistic missiles arrive non-stop from an apparent North Korean assembly line. Every launch is followed by widespread criticisms.
It's High Time the US Signed a Peace Treaty with North Korea
Halt the Endless and Futile Condemnation of the DPRK
By Alice Slater*
NEW YORK, 21 April 2023 (IDN) — It is far beyond hypocrisy for the US and its allies to condemn North Korea for testing a long-range missile when the US boasts about its Air Force Global Strike Command of more than 33,700 Airmen and civilians responsible for the nation’s three intercontinental ballistic missile wings capable of delivering nuclear weapons. [P 03] CHINESE | GERMAN | JAPANESE | RUSSIAN
Nuclear War or Negotiations with North Korea?
By Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden, 20 April 2023 (IDN) — Of all the rogues, there is no question that Kim Jong-Un and his odious regime in North Korea are the furthest advanced in threatening the outside world with nuclear weapons.
Yet an honest administration in Washington has to ask itself how much the U.S. has been responsible for bringing about this state of affairs, one that threatened to escalate fast with North Korea announcing in October 2002 it was enriching uranium to build a nuclear weapon and now later in that year in effect abrogating the landmark 1994 agreement.
Ellsberg Has Foiled Those Who Want Him Confined to the Past
By Norman Solomon*
SAN FRANCISCO, 11 April 2023 (IDN) — In just a few words—“those who control the present, control the past and those who control the past control the future”—George Orwell summed up why narratives about history can be crucial. And so, ever since the final helicopter liftoff from the U.S. Embassy’s roof in Saigon on 30 April 1975, the retrospective meaning of the Vietnam War has been a matter of intense dispute.
North Korea Accused of Funding its Missile Programmes with Crypto Currency
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, 10 April 2023 (IDN) — The United States and its two closest Asian allies—Japan and South Korea—have accused the North Koreans of illegally financing its ballistic missile programmes.
In a hard-hitting statement released on April 7, the three countries reiterate with concern that overseas IT workers of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) “continue using forged identities and nationalities to evade UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions and earn income abroad that funds the DPRK’s unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs”.
G7 Hiroshima Summit: Opportunity to Rethink National Security
Adopting a No First Use Policy is Equally Important
Viewpoint by Anna Ikeda*
NEW YORK, 10 April 2023 (IDN) — The current war in Ukraine has shown that nuclear deterrence is deeply flawed. It relies on the assumption of “rational actors” in power and credibility of threats, which we know are far from reality, especially in times of conflicts.
