AUGUST 2, 2017

US Foreign Military Bases Aren’t for “Defense”

by THOMAS KNAPP

Photo by DVIDSHUB | CC BY 2.0

“U.S. foreign military bases are the principal instruments of imperial global domination and environmental damage through wars of aggression and occupation.” That’s the unifying claim of the Coalition Against US Foreign Military Bases (noforeignbases.org), and it’s true as far as it goes.  But as a signer of the Coalition’s endorsement form, I think it’s worth taking the argument a bit further. The maintenance of nearly 1,000 US military bases on foreign soil isn’t just a nightmare for peaceniks. It’s also also an objective threat to US national security

A reasonable definition of “national defense,” it seems to me, is the maintenance of sufficient weaponry and trained military personnel to protect a country from, and effectively retaliate against, foreign attacks.  The existence of US bases abroad runs counter to the defensive element of that mission and only very poorly supports the retaliatory part.

An Exercise in Futility: Fantasizing About Nuclear Disarmament

AUGUST 2, 2017

An Exercise in Futility: Fantasizing About Nuclear Disarmament

by N.D. JAYAPRAKASH

 

(Part – 1)

 “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride!” If wishful thinking was all that mattered, the poor could have wished away poverty by merely passing a resolution abolishing global poverty! But can such a wish be fulfilled as long as resources continue to remain under the control of the rich? Then how could 122 Non-Nuclear-Weapon-States (NNWS) adopt a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons (which they do not possess) without placing the onus of responsibility on the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) to prohibit use or threat of use of nuclear weapons until their elimination? Why do these NNWS delude themselves about nuclear disarmament when they are averse to taking the NWS to task in this regard?

The ‘Draft Convention on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’ was released by the UN on May 22, 2017 and a detailed critique of the same was published in a four-part article titled “No More Con Games: Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now!”. On Jul 07, 2017, at the United Nations, 122 NNWS adopted the “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”There is substantial difference between the Draft Text of May 22, 2017 and the Revised Text of Jul 06, 2017 that was adopted on Jul 07, 2017.

Revised Preamble

The preamble to the Revised Text has been significantly amended. In the in-depth critique of the Draft Text (see para between fn. nos. 78 & 79) it was pointed out that several key aspects, which are essential for reducing the nuclear threat, had not been included in it. That there were no references to:

* The fact that nuclear holocaust may result from accident, miscalculation, etc.

* The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons as constituting a crime against humanity.

* The Right of Self Defense enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter as not empowering any member-state to commit genocide; that member-states should only act in a manner, which is in consonance with Article 2(4) of the UN Charter (to refrain from threat or use of force against fellow member-states);

* The fact that nuclear weapons cannot protect life in any way; that its use either through a preemptive attack or through a retaliatory attack can only cause widespread death and devastation;

* Significance of key Resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly on Jan 24, 1946; Dec 20, 1961, etc.

In this regard, it is gratifying to note that the Revised Text has inserted the following paras to strengthen the preamble: