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[1] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Tue Mar 6, 2007 10:22 am Subject: Nuclear Hypocrisy and Iran http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4039 Nuclear Hypocrisy and Iran Frida Berrigan | March 1, 2007 The Bush administration is very focused these days on Iran’s nuclear program. This focus has only sharpened in the aftermath of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s recent report that Iran continues to enrich uranium in defiance of a UN Security Council demand. “A nuclear-armed Iran is not a very pleasant prospect for anybody to think about,” Vice President Dick Cheney told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl in Australia. “It clearly could do significant damage. And so I think we need to continue to do everything we can to make certain they don't achieve that objective.” Asked if the administration would continue to pursue diplomacy, the vice president responded that while “we've been working with the EU and going through the United Nations with sanctions… the President has also made it clear that we haven't taken any options off the table.” In the White House, “options on the table” is code for military action. There have been many media reports of U. S. preparations to attack Iran. But the primary rationale for such an attack – to prevent Iran from going nuclear – is deeply problematic. Not only is the United States beefing up its military in general, it is even planning a modernization of its nuclear arsenal. The nuclear hypocrisy of the Bush administration makes any resolution of the conflict with Iran all the more difficult. U. S. Military Spending The new round of hand-wringing and saber-rattling about Iran’s nascent but worrisome nuclear program comes just a few weeks after the Bush administration announced its new budget, which included billions for nuclear weapons development. The Department of Energy’s “weapons activities” budget request totals $6.4 billion, a drop in the bucket compared to the Pentagon’s $481.4 billion proposed budget. But the budget for new nukes is large and growing -- even in comparison to Cold War figures. During the Cold War, spending on nuclear weapons averaged $4.2 billion a year(in current dollars). Almost two decades after the nuclear animosity between the two great superpowers ended, the United States is spending one-and-a-half times the Cold War average on nuclear weapons. In 2001, the weapons-activities budget of the Department of Energy (DOE), which oversees the nuclear weapons complex through the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), totaled $5.19 billion. Since President Bush’s January 2002 “Nuclear Posture Review” asserted the urgent need for a “revitalized nuclear weapons complex” -- “to design, develop, manufacture, and certify new warheads in response to new national requirements; and maintain readiness to resume underground testing” -- there has been more than a billion-dollar jump in nuclear spending. Included in the $6.4 billion 2008 request is money for “design concept testing” of two new nuclear warhead designs that officials hope will be deployed on submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles-- even as U. S. warships set their helms towards the Strait of Hormuz to menace Iran back from the nuclear brink. Costly, Illegal, and Dangerous Key to revitalizing nuclear weapons is Complex 2030, the NNSA’a “infrastructure planning scenario for a nuclear weapons complex able to meet the threats of the 21st century.” It is a costly, illegal, and dangerous program aimed at rebuilding the 50-year-old nuclear facilities where the weapons are both assembled and disassembled. How Costly? The DOE estimates that Complex 2030 would require a capital investment of $150 billion. But the Government Accountability Office says that is way too low to fund even the basic maintenance of the eight nuclear facilities currently operational throughout the country. Why Illegal? Complex 2030 promises a return to the Cold War cycle of design, development, and production of nuclear weapons, runs the risk of a return to underground nuclear testing, and could require the annual manufacture of hundreds of new plutonium pits -- the fissile “heart” of a nuclear weapon. These plans directly contradict U. S. treaty promises in 1968 “to negotiate toward general and complete disarmament.” How Dangerous? Every step the United States takes away from the international consensus on the illegality and immorality of nuclear weapons is a new incentive and justification for other nations to pursue and brandish nuclear weapons. In a 2006 report, the independent “Weapons of Mass Destruction” Commission estimated the dark likelihood of ten new nuclear powers within a decade. At the end of January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advanced the hand of its Doomsday clock to five minutes to nuclear midnight, in part as a result of “renewed U. S. emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons.” As the United States surges forward in its nuclear renaissance, the threat of nuclear terrorism and accidental nuclear strikes remains a grave yet under-funded priority. The administration occasionally raises the specter of nuclear-armed terrorists. In February 2004, for example, President Bush warned, “In the hands of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction would be a first resort.” Despite its rhetoric, however, the administration has done nothing to accelerate efforts to destroy and safeguard loose nuclear weapons and bomb-making materials, allocating about $1 billion a year to these crucial non-proliferation efforts (roughly the same amount that the Bush administration has been burning through each day in Iraq). At this rate, it will be 13 years before Russian nuclear material is secured. The contradictions between what the administration is demanding of Tehran and other powers, and the capabilities it is pursuing for its own arsenal, are provocative and dangerous -- a pernicious form of nuclear hypocrisy. Dick Cheney is right -- a nuclear-armed Iran is not a pleasant prospect, and we have to do something. But the most effective option is the hardest to swallow. Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United States agreed to an “unequivocal undertaking” to “eliminate” its nuclear weapons arsenal. Honoring that commitment -- and encouraging other declared and undeclared nuclear states to do the same -- would undercut Tehran’s arguments about why nuclear firepower is necessary. Oh, and by the way, it would also make the world feel a whole lot safer. FPIF columnist Frida Berrigan is a senior research associate at the New School. --------- [2] From: Pradip Kumar Datta <pradip200@yahoo.com> Date: Tue Mar 6, 2007 Subject: BSF fails to check cattle smuggling to Bangla BSF fails to check cattle smuggling to Bangla Barak Valley OUR CORRESPONDENT March 5: The unabated smuggling of cattle from Cachar and Karimganj districts across the international border into neighbouring Bangladesh has become a source of concern for both the BSF and the central land customs authorities. A senior customs official in Karimganj recently blew the lid off smuggling of cattle — both buffaloes and cows — along the 132-km international border with Bangladesh. He estimated that the business was worth Rs 1 crore annually. Smuggling gathers momentum during the festive season in Bangladesh, when there is an an increase in demand for beef. Both BSF and customs officials admitted their failure in putting an end to smuggling. Smugglers usually carry the cattle in boats and cross the Surma and Kushiara rivers, on the international border, during the night. Stretches of river in the Katigora block under Cachar and northwest Karimganj are used as embarking points. Sometimes, the cattle are bound together by ropes made of jute or nylon and made to swim across the river. Cattle hides are also smuggled across the border. On February 27, Karimganj police seized tanned hides worth Rs 40,000 from Girishganj near the border and arrested one smuggler. Desh Raj, the DIG of the BSF in Cachar, accepted their failure in stopping the smuggling across the border. However, he added that the BSF has stepped up patrol along the border, and the smuggling “has now been brought under control”. He further said the fence, which is near completion, would put a complete stop to “stray” incidents of smuggling. Raj also revealed that the BSF has recently seized 59 cows at the Pirnagar border post of the BSF under Katigora block in Cachar district. --------- [3] From: Regi P George <george_regi@yahoo.com> Date: Tue Mar 6, 2007 Subject: Dolphin massacre in Japan http://www.glumbert.com/media/dolphin http://www.petitiononline.com/golfinho/petition.html hi everyone please look over the following video. it is heartbreaking i think we all need a good hard look at the tragic impacts of our deplorable actions please forward on to all you know. this is important and should be shared thanks alot, kristy http://www.glumbert.com/media/dolphin http://www.petitiononline.com/golfinho/petition.html ---------- [4] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Tue Mar 6, 2007 Subject: Nepal Today: An Intimate and Private View s http://www.blog.com.np/ My Perspective on Current Nepal 5 03 2007 By Gaury S Adhikary Letter from Michigan I just got back from Kathmandu yesterday (2 March). Here is my perspective on current Nepal and where we might be heading in future. Nepal has many positives in the making, for example: 1. Little more than 10 percents of youth are heading out of Nepal for better opportunities outside India. I met many of these young lads on the way to Doha . Many of them are working in semiskilled and unskilled works, Mostly they are in service industries. It looks like the market has matured and Nepali workforce in Middle east has adopted its new workplace. 2. Kathmandu is awash with money: Real or imagined. Valley is built up form pillar to post and there is no spare land within the center of the city. There are more than 200 large brick factory working on overdrive. Financial institutions are lending money as if there is no tomorrow. So much so, Karmachari Sancahya Kosh is worth 55 Billion rupees and still needs vehicle for investment. Every hill top around Kathmandu is built up with a monastery or private house. Kathmandu rivers are thoroughly polluted and it shows that valley is at the phase of meteoric growth rate. Similarly, as Kathmandu grows out of being a small trading route town to big metropolis of 3 million inhabitants, it has its share of vices: gangs kidnapping people for ransom, dancing bars for brothel etc. etc. Kathmandu Growth rate soon needs to be stabilized and consolidated. I suspect this will start soon as the roads out of valley will connect rest of Nepal in next phase of growth. 3. Service sector in Kahtmandu is exploding. Means of transportations are plenty. Microbus Rs 10 per trip, Safa tempo, and taxis are plenty. Motorbikes and cars are freely available for credit (unheard in the past). Hospitals, both public and private, schools and tourist center are flourishing and maturing in its services to public as we speak. Almost all the roads within the valley are black topped. 4. Wholesale increase in professional group of Nepali is evident by what happened to me. I just stepped in my friend’s home for a dinner party. Someone handed over a phone and asked me to speak to the person on line. It turned out Kantipur was coming out with a Naya Nepal issue for Falgun 7th day and was seeking peoples’ opinion. I was briefly interviewed and my photograph was taken by a digital camera and sent over the internet. Next day issue was published on time! While I was in Kathmandu, my brother was interviewed live in one of its “call in service” by a FM radio at Dang, Chitawan and Pokhara at various times. People asking questions were precise and animated, it felt alive! 5. I spoke to Bhim Bahadur Tamang, Nepali Congress Central Committee member and former minister after his visit to Nuwakot to assess Party position. He felt NC has its voter base intact and people are animated politically. I also got the feedback that CPN UML is well organized and looking forward to elections. Maoists are militant and committed and well organized. They are the wild card and their voter base is “unknown quantity” at the time. Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF or MRPF) is a very recent spontaneous movement; its total impact on body politics of Nepal is unpredictable. However it has given enough energy to Madheshi people to organize better for future. Similarly, Limbu, Rai, Magar etc will have similar voices in Nepali politics in future. There is no question about it. What will be total impact is too early to predict at this time. 6. Finally, I had an opportunity to visit a village in Kavre (Bahune pati) on a day trip. What I saw in the village astounded me. It is in Panchkhal valley. From what I remember from my past memory is that this valley used to be surrounded by dry arid hills with little red dirt peeking out of naked hills all across. There was hardly any greenery in the past. This time the whole valley was irrigated, potato was planted row after row with Indrawati flowing on the side. All the naked hills were covered with lush green pines: thanks to community forestry; villager were looking after it as if life depended upon them. In the village I spoke to few community leaders which included ladies form local Fishermen community. They all seemed to be doing quite well for a village in Nepal. There was disposable income with them, village was served with a local health post connected with Dhulikhel hospital, it had 10 +2 school and the area was connected with rest of Nepal by all weather road. [Just to digress: A novel “Abiral Bagdachha Indrabati” was based on social condition of this place. Basically this novel depicts a local village headman exploiting the poor condition of local Majhii community. It ends upon sad note that the condition has prevailed form time immemorial and must likely will continue. Just to prove it wrong, Majhi women I spoke to were assertive and seem to live in self dignity. Nepali village has definitely changed. Houses across the hills were two storied, with galvanized zinc roof top. I did not see any thatched low house of the past.] To my pleasant surprise I found Nepali villager animated, sharing pain and pleasure as before, I saw children running around carefree, girls singing and dancing (it was Shiva Ratri day) and there was no evidence of depressed mood (that I expected following 10 years of violence in the villages). It looked like Nepali villagers have taken the changes in stride and are looking ahead for Naya Nepal. What does it tell me? I think Nepali have used their time to do the best they could on given situation. I feel Nepali people know and they have said: we want to be left alone to live in dignity, and they have a clear and loud message to political big wigs that they would like to have permanent peace. This message has been heard loud and clear by all parties concerned. It includes major political parties, Nepal army and police, India and the US. There is lot of undercurrent for that power positioning in the center. That is what gives a sense of despair in Kathmandu but underneath everyone is jockeying for their consolidated power before going to Constituent Assembly election. At the time, politically Nepal is at the cross road. Any prediction is going to be laced with lots of uncertainties. But when we look at overall growth of Nepal and Nepali capabilities , political process cannot go backward or be hijacked by anyone group. I am confident Nepali people with their resilience and wisdom will bring the Nepali politics back to where it belongs: at the Center! With best, Gaury S Adhikary Ann arbor, MI United States |
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| << March05, 2007 - [India Thinkers Net] Happy Holi and a host of other postings |
March11, 2007 - [India Thinkers Net] Breach of faith ,Reddy-Eenadu war etc >> |
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