| Happy
New Year! We hope this message finds you well, and energized
for the year of action ahead!
The
unprecedented high turnout of voters in the first wave of presidential
primaries indicates that people are engaged like never before. We
all hope to tap into this energy and hope for change.
And
now... A
highly unscientific look back at the some of the most auspicious
things that happened last year...
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1.
No funding for new nukes
Congress
rejected the administration's plans for new nuclear weapons ("Reliable
Replacement Warhead").
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| WAND
mobilized members and friends to work against funding new nukes
-- and we were part of a broad effort across the country. Many national
organizations, local groups, and individual citizens worked together
to defeat RRW. It
was a great effort, and it worked!
One
budget line represented the culmination of hours upon hours of advocacy
and a huge victory for the arms control community. In the
harsh political climate of the past seven years, the arms control
community and individual activists stopped the nuclear "bunker
buster," a new nuclear bomb plant, and now the Reliable Replacement
Warhead.
In
related news:
- Congress
cut more than half of the administration's request for funds to
participate in a dangerous program to reprocess used nuclear
fuel.
- North
Korea has responded to renewed diplomatic efforts and
taken concrete steps to curb its nuclear program.
- In
an effort to help the next President reevaluate U.S. nuclear weapons
policy, Congress mandated two studies of America's current
nuclear weapons strategy.
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2.
A slowdown on the march to war with Iran
The
December National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that
determined Tehran had suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003
compelled the administration to ease up on threats of a military
attack on Iran.
January
16, an NPR
reporter sent an analysis from the Middle East (where President
Bush is still rattling his sabre) that relayed other positive ripples
from the NIE:
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...The
NIE cut two ways: Ahmadinejad had been arguing that Iranians
should rally behind him, to stand up to the U.S. war threat.
Now he won't be able to make that case.
"The
NIE report, in effect, took the wind out of the war campaign
in the United States," says Vali Nasr of the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
"That may have the effect of refocusing domestic political
attention in Iran back on Ahmadinejad's domestic record, on
his economic record, right ahead of the March parliamentary
elections. So in some ways, it may not necessarily benefit
him."
In
this sense, the release of the NIE may have had the indirect
effect of strengthening moderates in Iran. |
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| 3.
More women in Congress!
In October,
Niki Tsongas became the first woman in
25 years
elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress.
From the Boston
Globe: "In a contest closely watched by national Democrats
and Republicans, Tsongas, 61, campaigned for change, calling the
local election a referendum on President Bush and the Iraq war."
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4.
A shift in the nation's attitude about nuclear weapons?
Make
no mistake, the U.S. has a firm hold on its thousands of nuclear
weapons. But there are encouraging signs that we are beginning
to recognize the overwhelming danger they pose to all of us.
-
In a nationally televised debate recently, presidential candidates
Barack Obama and John Edwards discussed long-term initiatives
to get rid of the world’s nuclear weapons.
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In January 2007, George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A.
Kissinger and Sam Nunn weighed into the debate with "A
World Free of Nuclear Weapons" in the Wall
Street Journal.
-
In
January 2008, they weighed in again, with an even stronger message
about the threat to life: "Toward a Nuclear-Free
World"
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2007:
Reassertion of the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons
and practical measures toward achieving that goal would
be, and would be perceived as, a bold initiative consistent
with America's moral heritage. The effort could have a profoundly
positive impact on the security of future generations. Without
the bold vision, the actions will not be perceived as fair
or urgent. Without the actions, the vision will not be perceived
as realistic or possible.
We
endorse setting the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons
and working energetically on the actions required to achieve
that goal, beginning with the measures outlined above.
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2008:
The accelerating spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear
know-how and nuclear material has brought us to a nuclear
tipping point. We face a very real possibility that the
deadliest weapons ever invented could fall into dangerous
hands.
The
steps we are taking now to address these threats are not
adequate to the danger. With nuclear weapons more widely
available, deterrence is decreasingly effective and increasingly
hazardous.
One
year ago, in an essay in this paper, we called for a global
effort to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons, to prevent
their spread into potentially dangerous hands, and ultimately
to end them as a threat to the world. The interest, momentum
and growing political space that has been created to address
these issues over the past year has been extraordinary,
with strong positive responses from people all over the
world.
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5.
Maybe there's more to diplomacy than having the biggest stick
When
even the Secretary of Defense recognizes the need for something
other than military force, you may be witnessing a sea change.
In November, Robert
Gates gave a highly unusual speech...
...My
message today is not about the defense budget or military
power. My message is that if we are to meet the myriad challenges
around the world in the coming decades, this country must
strengthen other important elements of national power both
institutionally and financially, and create the capability
to integrate and apply all of the elements of national power
to problems and challenges abroad. In short, based on my experience
serving seven presidents, as a former Director of CIA and
now as Secretary of Defense, I am here to make the case for
strengthening our capacity to use "soft" power and
for better integrating it with "hard" power.
One of the most important lessons of the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan is that military success is not sufficient
to win: economic development, institution-building
and the rule of law, promoting internal reconciliation, good
governance, providing basic services to the people, training
and equipping indigenous military and police forces, strategic
communications, and more – these, along with security,
are essential ingredients for long-term success. Accomplishing
all of these tasks will be necessary to meet the diverse challenges
I have described. |
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