CREDO Action from Working Assets – 2008-04-10 22:28:28

http://act.credomobile.com/campaign/stop_the_bombplex/i3bnix72r7nb6wtm?

Speak Out Against New Nuclear Weapons
A Whole New Generation of Bombs?

There’s no military need for them whatsoever. Speak out against these plans with a comment to the DOE.

The US Department of Energy (the federal agency responsible for building and maintaining our nation’s stockpile of nuclear weapons) is currently moving ahead with plans for a whole new generation of nuclear bombs.

Click here to tell the DOE to focus on safely reducing our existing stockpile, not making new weapons.

These proposed new weapons would not enhance our national security whatsoever; in fact, they would only encourage other countries to “go nuclear” in an effort to catch up. Our military leaders have not asked for these weapons — so why in the world is the DOE moving forward with these plans?

Submit an official public comment today in opposition to the DOE’s plans.

The DOE is legally required to accept public comments on this plan as part of their environmental impact statement — but the comment period ends this coming Thursday, April 10th. So please take action today.

Thank you for working to build a better world.
— Will Easton, Activism Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

Say No to a New Generation of Nuclear Weapons

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is currently planning a system-wide upgrade of the entire American nuclear weapons complex, returning the US to a Cold-War-level capability of designing and producing new nuclear weapons.

Instead of recreating the capacity to produce new and unnecessary nuclear weapons, the DOE should shift its focus instead to shrinking the still-oversized nuclear weapons manufacturing complex. The DOE should also focus on maintaining the safety and security of our existing weapons arsenal (currently numbering more than 5,000 — with each weapon more than sufficient to destroy a city) as it is drawn down.

The DOE also appears to be putting the cart before the horse here. The broader question of whether or not our nation needs more nuclear weapons is one for the president and the Department of Defense, not the DOE — and Congress has already mandated that the next president undertake such an analysis.

If the DOE is allowed to move forward with these plans, it will send exactly the wrong signal to the rest of the world — that nuclear weapons represent a path to security. Fortunately, a mandatory environmental review of the DOE’s “Complex Transformation” initiative allows you to submit comments on their ill-advised plan — but please act soon, as the comment deadline is this coming Thursday, April 10.

For more information, please visit the web sites of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, or Tri-Valley CAREs.

THE LETTER
Subject: Complex Transformation SPEIS Comments

I applaud the Department of Energy for moving forward with plans to consolidate and reduce the facilities, workforce, and redundant capabilities within the nation’s sprawling nuclear weapons complex.

However, Complex Transformation puts far too much emphasis on re-creating the unnecessary capability to research, develop, and manufacture new types of nuclear weapons. The United States still maintains thousands of nuclear weapons and has thousands more in storage — more than enough to maintain a reliable and credible nuclear deterrent for the foreseeable future. We simply do not need the capability to make more or newer nuclear weapons.

In addition, Complex Transformation undermines US efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons around the world. It violates the spirit and letter of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and sends the wrong message to the world —that obtaining nuclear weapons will increase security.

Any major upgrade of the nuclear weapons complex must be preceded by a comprehensive analysis and re-evaluation of the role of nuclear weapons as an instrument of security policy. That review needs to be done by the president and the Department of Defense, not the DOE, and Congress has already mandated that the next president undertake one.

Instead of recreating the capacity to produce new, unnecessary nuclear weapons, the DOE should focus on shrinking the still-oversized nuclear weapons complex and on maintaining the safety and security of our existing weapons arsenal as the size of our nuclear stockpile is reduced.

I ask that you include my comment as part of the official record for the Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the “Complex Transformation” project.

Thank you.