From Truthout, especially for folks living in Washington State
Physicians Work to Bring Back the Anti-Nuclear Movement
Various members of different CND, anti-war and peace campaigners gathered to
protest the bases of nuclear capable submarines, September 22, 2018, in
Helensburgh, Scotland.
Various members of different CND, anti-war and peace campaigners gathered to
protest the bases of nuclear capable submarines, September 22, 2018, in
Helensburgh, Scotland.
Stewart Kirby / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
By Dahr Jamail, Truthout Published November 11, 2018
Planet or Profit
It is a move that many, including former President of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev, believe has ignited a new nuclear arms race. This is
because the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by Gorbachev
and former US President Ronald Reagan, banned all short and mid-range
nuclear and non-nuclear missiles, and helped eliminate thousands of
land-based missiles.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Trump has already promised to
build new nuclear weapons, in addition to having withdrawn from the Iran
nuclear deal, heightening tensions further after having previously
threatened the use of nuclear weapons against North Korea. Trump has also
promised to build new nuclear weapons.
While these deeply concerning issues, which are clear existential threats to
the entire planet, often fly under the radar, a large and diverse coalition
of groups across Washington State has formed with the aim of reviving the
anti-nuclear movement.
"Kitsap Bangor Naval Base is the single largest collection of nuclear
weapons in the US, and each of those warheads is many times more powerful
than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Estela Ortega, the
executive director of El Centro de la Raza, told Truthout. El Centro de la
Raza is a Seattle-based civil rights, human services, educational, cultural
and economic development organization.
Ortega explained that the mission of her organization is "to struggle for a
clean, safe, and nuclear waste-free environment for our people and future
generations. To work for a rational use of natural resources in the
interests of the preservation of Mother Earth and the peaceful development
of humankind."
She added, "Our commitment to a nuclear free world and preserving Mother
Earth has been with us since the beginning of our organization."
Ortega's organization is now part of Washington Physicians for Social
Responsibility's (WPSR) effort to revive anti-nuclear awareness across the
state by developing what has become a broad, socially diverse coalition of
dozens of partners who share the same goal.
WPSR, which is the Washington State chapter of Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR), reached out to Ortega and her organization after she
gave a speech at Hiroshima to Hope's annual remembrance event.
"Their mission and goals were similar to ours in that nuclear weapons should
be eliminated and those dollars then used to end poverty," she said. "In
addition, the dollars should be used to strengthen our nation by funding
education, housing, health care, rebuilding our country, creating jobs and
now we need funds to combat climate change for clean air, water, a green
economy and healthy forests."
Lilly Adams is the security program organizer for WPSR, as well as the
co-chair of the group's Nuclear Weapons Abolition Task Force. Adams
coordinates WPSR's statewide coalition, Washington Against Nuclear Weapons.
"The primary aim of our work is to reduce our nuclear weapons arsenal and
spending on nuclear weapons, and working towards a world without nuclear
weapons," Adams told Truthout. "Every nuclear weapon that is dismantled
makes us a little bit safer. These weapons threaten our society simply by
existing, because there is always the risk of intentional use, unintentional
use or accidents."
The coalition includes Earthcare Not Warfare, South Seattle Climate Action
Network, Spokane Veterans for Peace, Social Equity Educators, the Seattle
Education Association, a student group at the University of Washington
called Beyond the Bomb, and more.
The aim of WPSR's statewide coalition is to mobilize leaders and their
organization's members in each congressional district to apply consistent
pressure to each member of Congress, with the eventual aim of abolishing
nuclear weapons altogether. It is working in tandem with the national PSR
organization, which has been advocating for more than half a century to
create what its website states is "a healthy, just and peaceful world for
both the present and future generations." PSR is the US affiliate of
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
Adams aims to reverse the trends that have been laid out in the Trump
administration's Nuclear Posture Review.
"This review lays out the administration's view of the role of nuclear
weapons," she said. "It calls for more usable nuclear weapons, expands the
situations in which we might use nuclear weapons, and sidelines disarmament
and diplomacy. In the short term, we have to work to oppose these dangerous
policies."
Washington as Ground Zero
Laura Skelton, the executive director of WPSR, told Truthout she knew
building a coalition like this would be challenging in Washington. This is
because the Boeing company (which builds nuclear missiles), uranium mining,
nuclear weapons storage and the Hanford nuclear waste site have all played a
significant role in the state's economy.
Additionally, the US military's standing presence in the state is
highlighted by this statement on Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's website: "The
Military and Defense sector is Washington's second largest direct public
employer. This key industry cuts across many sectors in Washington, helps
create the backbone for a strong economy through our diverse defense
missions and military installations, our pioneering companies, and our
military friendly communities."
Governor Inslee, the so-called greenest governor, also convened the
Washington Military Alliance to ensure military spending continues to flow
into the state.
"It's also delicate to bring up Boeing's role in nuclear weapons systems
production," Skelton said. "I doubt most residents are aware of their role
in the military economy, and in the nuclear weapons industry in particular."
Bangor, Washington, is one of the largest depots of nuclear weapons in the
US, and coupled with the other aforementioned nuclear-related presences,
Washington State is a sort of "ground zero" for anti-nuclear organizing for
the nation.
Bruce Amundson, WPSR's vice president and co-chair of our Nuclear Weapons
Abolition Task Force, is a former family physician, and was the catalyst for
WPSR's anti-nuclear weapons coalition.
"Some of the old-guard anti-nuclear leaders back then [during the 1980s]
were early responders to our requests to join a statewide coalition and have
been some of the most engaged folks," Amundson told Truthout. "So, like the
Trump phenomenon, our Washington history has been a boon to organizing."
On the other hand, the massive presence of the military in Washington,
coupled with the influence of Boeing and the defense industries, have a grip
on the state government that, Amundson said, "is hard to break."
However, according to Amundson, several members of WPSR's growing coalition
are now linked to members of Congress in each district of the state and are
making "aggressive asks." He said the results have been notable.
Since the campaign began two years ago, WPSR has seen members of Congress
who were formerly absent on nuclear issues now speaking out or supporting
legislative initiatives for the first time. Additionally, Amundson said
two-thirds of Washington's congressional delegation have "moved" along the
spectrum to a better position on the issue.
"Our requests have been supported by strong arguments, by the humanitarian
perspective of human carnage and by a clear message that something is
happening in Washington around nuclear issues and we are not going away,"
Amundson said.
Adams pointed out that although Boeing's presence makes Washington a
challenging place to form an anti-nuclear coalition, many people simply
don't realize Boeing is one of the largest nuclear weapons systems producers
in the country. If they did, they might not be so excited about its
presence.
"Producers of other weapons of mass destruction, like chemical weapons, are
often condemned by the public, but somehow this is still not true for
producers of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons systems," Adams said. "But
often people simply don't know this other side of Boeing. Boeing is a big
contributor to the Democratic and Republican parties and individual elected
officials in Washington State, and they spend a massive amount of money
lobbying Congress."
According to Adams, all that power and money being invested in the continued
production of nuclear weapons by Boeing points to a more general corporate
nightmare: Much of the US nuclear weapons production is carried out by
private companies. These companies stand to profit from the continued
existence and reliance on nuclear weapons, regardless of the negative
impacts on communities.
The Kitsap Bangor naval base is home to the largest collection of deployed
(or ready-to-use) nuclear weapons in the country, according to Adams.
If Washington were its own country, it would be the third-largest nuclear
weapons country in the world.
"This is on Hood Canal, just 20 miles from Seattle," she said. "In fact, if
Washington were its own country, it would be the third-largest nuclear
weapons country in the world."
Therefore, it's an uphill battle to convince people in her state government
to work towards disarmament and to stop investing in nuclear weapons.
"This is especially true in the 6th District, which includes Kitsap Bangor
naval base, and where the military is a major employer," Adams said. "This
makes this a challenging topic not just for members of Congress, but also
the people living there, who may see this as their livelihood. To be clear,
we do not advocate for closing the base itself."
Nevertheless, Adams thinks the movement is having impact, pointing to how
positions of many members of state Congress have shifted regarding nuclear
weapons issues.
"We've seen some members of Congress become strong and outspoken advocates
for safer nuclear weapons policies and reductions in US the arsenal and
spending," Adams said. "Some members of Congress who previously had not
engaged on this issue at all have taken significant actions in the last
couple of years, like co-sponsoring bills or voting against new warheads, at
our urging."
Public opinion is ripe for change, too. Skelton acknowledges that nuclear
weapons policy is far outside most people's daily concerns, but added, "I
imagine that most people would prefer to spend the majority of our nuclear
weapons budget on other things that would improve their daily lives."
Stopping the Nuclear Spending Spree
Under the Obama administration, the US and Russia signed the New START
Treaty, which requires both countries to decrease their nuclear arsenals. In
order to pass the treaty, the Obama administration made a compromise
allowing the remaining nuclear arsenal to be "modernized."
According to Adams, this kicked off what is now a $1.7 trillion spending
spree on nuclear weapons over the next 30 years, which comes out to $4.6
million every single hour.
This includes not only upgrading existing weapons, but actually replacing
every part of the nuclear triad (submarines, ground-based missiles, bombers
and air-launched missiles) and making new nuclear weapons, like the heavily
debated low-yield weapons that came up this year.
Therefore, Adams urges people to engage in a variety of forms of
anti-nuclear advocacy, such as writing op-eds, attending public forums and
demonstrations, passing resolutions, or undertaking civil disobedience and
direct action in order to "favorably impact policy makers and policies."
Delegations including WPSR members and staff, alongside representatives from
the statewide coalition they've formed, have been meeting with members of
Congress in Washington in most districts.
The meetings involve reinforcing policy steps and pronouncements that the
member has already made, coupled with specific policy "asks" and
explorations of areas of potential collaboration. The coalition also works
to influence Congress members on impending legislation.
Mobilizing hundreds of individual contacts to a member of Congress within a
few days on a specific piece of legislation has been both possible and
effective.
"Mobilizing hundreds of individual contacts to a member of Congress within a
few days on a specific piece of legislation has been both possible and
effective, a strategy for eliciting public pressure and visibility not seen
on nuclear issues in Washington for years," Adams said.
Skelton explained that WPSR took the lead in forming this coalition at this
particular time because no one else was doing it."While we were still
raising awareness of nuclear issues and talking with elected representatives
about them, we recognized that we would make a much better case in doing so
alongside others," Skelton said. "Whether or not a person chooses to think
about it, nuclear weapons (including military spending and the risks posed
by nearby weapons) affect us all."
Skelton believes that by raising a chorus of diverse voices and concerns -
and showing policy makers that this is an issue that many people care about
- they are once again putting a spotlight on nuclear concerns in Washington
State and demanding that their lawmakers support better and safer nuclear
policies.
Her hope is that if the majority of members of Congress in Washington State
call for nuclear weapons to be taken off high alert and urged on a path
toward disarmament, this could inspire similar efforts elsewhere.
"If we had enough people nationally saying these things, my dream would be
for the US to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,"
she said.
Adams is also concerned about other nuclear issues, such as working to
ensure peace and diplomacy with North Korea - and the fact that President
Trump has the sole authority to launch nuclear weapons.
Amundson, who has been a member of PSR for more than 35 years, believes one
of the best policy outcomes from WPSR's latest effort would be "to stop most
- or all - of the proposed legislation to rebuild the entire nuclear triad."
Amundson thinks this is a critical time for doing so, given the cost is
clearly unsustainable in addition to it eclipsing other public needs.
Two-thirds of the rest of the world's nations have already signed on to
abolish nuclear weapons.
"Our position is that if these policies succeed, and the US has a newly
built arsenal, the die is cast for the next 30-40 years," he said. "Once in
place, we know the power of the military/corporate/congressional complex."
Time to Bring Back the Anti-Nuclear Movement
Skelton again acknowledged that nuclear issues aren't currently one of the
top concerns for most progressive groups, but asks why, given the potential
(and actual) consequences.
"Why are we not talking about the massive spending earmarked for these
weapons, or the unthinkable destruction and destabilization they represent?"
she asked. "For me, another desirable outcome of our campaign would be that
people are regularly asking these questions, talking with candidates about
them and demanding more progress on nuclear policies."
Although the Cold War has long been officially over, few people are actively
calling for changing Cold War-era policies and making serious reductions in
US nuclear arsenals.
Amundson believes that, via WPSR's work across the country with other PSR
chapters and affiliated organizations that oppose nuclear weapons,
Washington now has the most extensive and professionally organized
anti-nuclear movement of any state.
"It's a sad commentary on the atrophy of anti-nuclear advocacy over the 30
years since the collapse of the USSR, when everyone went to sleep on these
threats," he said.
However, there's hope: Amundson believes the work they are doing now serves
as a model for other organizations across the US. Meanwhile, what keeps
Adams's eyes on the proverbial ball is continuing to work directly with
communities across Washington State that have been directly affected by the
nuclear weapons industry.
"The entire process of creating nuclear weapons harms those involved and the
surrounding environment, and historically, the communities most affected are
communities of color, Indigenous people and low-income communities," she
said. "This is clear around the world, but also very clear right here in
Washington, where many of our communities have been devastated by the
nuclear weapons industry."
While the potential deaths due to a nuclear catastrophe are what are usually
considered when the topic of nuclear weapons arises, people in the
communities Adams mentioned are already dying from the effects of nuclear
weapons production.
"Their stories are not often told, and in debates about nuclear policy,
their voices are not often heard," Adams said. "As we work towards a world
without nuclear weapons and try to change policy, it's crucial that we build
relationships with these communities and, hopefully, make it easier for them
to be at the center of these debates and help lead these efforts."
