Rep. Pete Stark

Last week, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and 26 other representatives sent a letter to President Obama urging him to ensure the Nuclear Posture Review puts the US on a path toward nuclear disarmament. Peace Action West worked closely with Rep. Stark’s office, encouraging representatives in the western states to sign on to the letter. With the review due in early 2010, now is an important time for the president to hear from Congress. Rep. Stark’s office issued this press release about the letter:

Clinton gives a speech on nuclear weapons

Sec. of State Clinton delivered a speech yesterday at the United States Institute of Peace that reinforced the president’s agenda to address the threat posed by nuclear weapons. She gets to the core of why steps toward a nuclear weapons free world are in the interest of US and global security in these passages:

We also know that unless these trends are reversed, and reversed soon, we will find ourselves in a world with a steadily growing number of nuclear-armed states, and increasing likelihood of terrorists getting their hands on nuclear weapons.

Peace Action West joined a broad coalition of faith, environmental, arms control, and peace and security organizations in sending a letter to President Obama thanking him for his leadership on nuclear weapons issues. The letter also made recommendations for how the administration’s Nuclear Posture Review can reflect the vision of a nuclear weapons free world President Obama announced in his speech from Prague. 179 national, regional, and local organizations signed the lettter, representing 31 states and hundreds of thousands of people.

The Nuclear Posture Review, due early next year, will set U.S. nuclear weapons policy for the next 5-10 years. This review is an opportunity to reject outdated Cold War thinking and create a transformational policy that addresses the threats of the 21st century and sets the U.S. on a path toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

The US-drafted UN Resolution 1887 on non-proliferation and disarmament passed unanimously today at the Security Council meeting chaired by President Obama. In attendance were the heads-of-state for fourteen nations, the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and a high level diplomat from Libya as well as some celebrity observers.  The passage of this resolution demonstrates great political will to address the dangers of nuclear weapons proliferation, a new era of American engagement, and a belief in multilateral institutions such as the UN to get things done.  This meeting also demonstrates a follow through by President Obama and his administration about his vision in Prague this spring of a nuclear weapons free world.

Secretary of Defense Gates is still pushing for new nuclear weapons. At an Air Force Association conference this Wednesday, Gates:

previewed findings of the ongoing Nuclear Posture Review by endorsing the need to sustain and modernize the nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons, including a new warhead design.

That appears to mean support for the reliable replacement warhead program proposed by former President George W. Bush but strongly opposed by arms control advocates and congressional Democrats.

The article continues with more from Gates:

Responding to a question from the audience, Gates said the preliminary nuclear review results showed the need for “large investments” in modernizing nuclear weapons production facilities and retaining weapons development expertise and, “in one or two cases, probably new designs that would be safer and more reliable.”