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An Assessment of the Final Report of the WMD Commission and Its Implications for U.S. Policy
Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security is a non-governmental response to the June 2006 release of the final report of The Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Commission, Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms. The product of a collaboration of Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, Western States Legal Foundation, and Reaching Critical Will of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, it offers mostly praise, but sometimes criticism, for the Commission's report, and goes well beyond to provide a stand-alone assessment of U.S. nuclear weapons policy. It contains in-depth analysis and recommendations regarding U.S. policy in relation to the international security framework, disarmament and non-proliferation, nuclear weapons R&D, missiles and weapons in space, climate change and nuclear power, Iran and the nuclear fuel-cycle, and demilitarization and redefining security in human terms. In 1996, the International Court of Justice, the highest court in the world on questions of international law, issued an authoritative interpretation of the NPT's disarmament commitment, concluding unanimously, "There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control." The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2000 resulted in the unanimous adoption of 13 "practical steps for the systematic and progressive efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament." But the United States and other nuclear powers subsequently failed to implement the agenda. In 2005, the international community experienced two major failures with respect to non-proliferation and disarmament. The NPT Review Conference ended without agreement largely due to U.S. intransigence. Likewise, heads of state at the World Summit were unable to agree on a single word regarding either nuclear proliferation or disarmament. What went wrong? More than 15 years after the end of the Cold War, with a declared policy of "preventive war," the United States today retains an active stockpile of 10,000 nuclear warheads, with some 1,600 weapons on hair-trigger alert. While it demands that other nations cease and desist, the U.S. will spend nearly $7 billion this year to maintain and renovate its own nuclear warheads, keeping them useable for decades to come, and many billions more to operate and modernize their means of delivery. The nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime is fraying
at its seams. Weapons of Terror observes that, "some of the
current setbacks in treaty-based arms control and disarmament can
be traced to ... US policy." Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative
Security firmly concludes: "Nuclear disarmament should serve
as the leading edge of a global trend towards demilitarization and
redirection of military expenditures to meet human and environmental
needs. The United States government has a special responsibility
to take leadership in this massive undertaking." Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security offers in-depth analysis and recommendations regarding U.S. policy in relation to the international security framework, nuclear weapons R&D, missiles and weapons in space, climate change and nuclear power, and demilitarization and redefining security in human terms. A response to the report of the Hans Blix-led Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, it is the product of collaboration between the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, Western States Legal Foundation, and the Reaching Critical Will project of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Contributing Authors Dr. John Burroughs, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy Foreword by Dr. Zia Mian, Princeton University Program on Science and Global Security Nuclear Disorder can be ordered online for $12 plus $3 shipping and handling by filling out this electronic form. We will mail you your copies following the release of the report in March, along with an invoice. Alternatively, you may also pre-order the book by sending an email to orders@wmdreport.org. Please indicate, "Nuclear Disorder Pre-Order" in the subject line and include your name, mailing address, and number of copies in the body of your message.
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