ACTION ALERT: Tell Your Senators and Representative to Eliminate ICBMs
(February 10, 2023) — More than 60 organizations have issued a joint statement calling for elimination of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). “Rather than being any kind of deterrent, ICBMs are the opposite — a foreseeable catalyst for nuclear attack,” the statement points out. “ICBMs certainly waste billions of dollars, but what makes them unique is the threat that they pose to all of humanity.”
As Daniel Ellsberg has noted:
“Every Minuteman missile
is a portable Auschwitz.”
As a constituent, I urge you to read the statement — “A Call to Eliminate ICBMs” — that has just been issued by more than 60 organizations.
Former Defense Secretary William Perry has called for closure of ICBMs to reduce the chances of nuclear war. The stakes could not be higher.
I hope to hear from you soon about this crucial matter. Thank you.
You can read the statement here.
Don’t Let Nuclear Weapons Kill Us All
Roots Action
(February 13, 2023) — A few nights ago, the US Air Force launched a Minuteman III nuclear missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This latest test of an ICBM — intercontinental ballistic missile — was a new step in reckless nuclear posturing at a time of rapidly increasing tensions between the largest nuclear powers.
This is a real life mega-horror show. But we don’t have to just watch.
The upcoming Defuse Nuclear War actions nationwide on Feb. 24 are a way to publicly insist that the US government should lead with diplomacy instead of militarism and weaponry.
And you can participate — even initiate!
• Interested in organizing an event on Feb. 24? Click here.
• Interested in attending an event on Feb. 24? Click here.
As the Feb. 24 anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches, we have an opportunity to amplify calls for genuine diplomacy to end this terrible war — which continues to cause widespread death and enormous suffering while increasing the dangers of nuclear war.
Diplomacy Is the Path to Peace
Stop the Killing; Avert Nuclear War
The day of action will focus on urging the United States to lead with diplomacy instead of escalation — to help create a path for ending the war, with genuine diplomatic initiatives instead of continuing with a blank check for huge weapons shipments.
Feb. 24 is a Friday, in a week that the House and Senate are not in session — so this is an extra good opportunity to bring public pressure on members of Congress while they are presumably in their home area. As constituents, you might want to:
- Picket at Congress member’s local office
- Demonstrate in a public place with high visibility
- Flyer / collect petition signatures for local Congressperson in a busy area or park
- Schedule a meeting with your Representative at their home office
- Protest at TV/newspaper offices
- Create your online action and petition using DIYrootsaction
But time is short. To find out more about how you can get involved, please visit: February 24 Day Of Action – DefuseNuclearWar.org
RootsAction is proud to be coordinating these nationwide Defuse Nuclear War actions in collaboration with many wonderful grassroots organizations. We appreciate your support and involvement!
— The RootsAction.org team
ICBM Test-Launched from California:
Decommission Land-Based Nuclear Missiles
Leonard Eiger / Ground Zero Center For Nonviolent Action
(February 9, 2023) — The US Air Force announced earlier today that a test launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with a mock warhead will take place late between 11:01 p.m. Thursday and 5:01 a.m. Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
There will be no international outcry over the planned test launch of the missile that, under normal operational deployment, would carry a thermonuclear warhead. There will be little or no discussion anywhere by the news media about the test and its implications regarding international efforts to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons and move the world towards disarmament.
So what will happen sometime during the upcoming wee hours?
Countdown… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
With a monstrous roar, and leaving a trail of smoke, the missile will launch out of its silo using its first stage rocket motor. About 60 seconds after launch the first stage burns out and falls away, and the second stage motor ignites. In another 60 seconds the third stage motor ignites and pulls away, sending the rocket out of the atmosphere. In about another 60 seconds the Post Boost Vehicle separates from the third stage and maneuvers to get ready to deploy the reentry vehicle or RV.
Next the RV separates from the Post Boost Vehicle and re-enters the atmosphere, making its way to its target. The euphemistically named RVs are what contain the thermonuclear warheads that are capable of incinerating entire cities (and beyond) and instantly killing (at least) hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people, causing untold suffering (both short and long term) to the survivors, and reducing the land to a smoldering, radioactive ruin.
Since this is a test the RV is loaded with a “dummy” warhead as it hurtles toward the test target in Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, approximately 4200 miles from the launch site.
And that’s all folks. No fanfare, no big news stories. Just the usual news release from the US government. As a previous news release stated, “The test demonstrates that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, reliable and effective to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies.”
Approximately 400 Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles are on 24/7 hair-trigger alert in silos in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. They carry thermonuclear warheads at least eight times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
So what are the realities of these ICBMs, and why should we be concerned?
- They are located in fixed silos, making them easy targets for attack;
- There is an incentive to “use them first or lose them” (see item 1 above);
- The high-alert status of these weapons could lead to accidental nuclear war (think itchy trigger finger);
- The US government consistently criticizes other countries for conducting missile tests;
- These tests have a negative effect on the target country (the Marshallese people have suffered for decades from previous nuclear weapons testing as well as current missile testing);
- Testing these missiles encourages other countries to develop and test their own missiles and nuclear weapons.
As people in this country begin thinking about preparing their taxes, perhaps this is a good time to ask where our hard-earned money would be better spent – testing weapons designed to kill millions of people (and quite probably end life on Earth) or supporting programs that support life.
After spending trillions on nuclear weapons, isn’t it time to say ENOUGH? These land-based missiles should be decommissioned immediately (and that is just a start)!
Following his arrest for protesting a Vandenberg ICBM test launch in 2012, then President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, David Krieger, stated:
“Current US nuclear weapons policy is illegal, immoral and runs a high risk of resulting in nuclear catastrophe. We cannot wait until there is a nuclear war before we act to rid the world of these weapons of mass annihilation.
“The US should be the leader in this effort, rather than an obstacle to its realization. It is up to the court of public opinion to assure that the US asserts this leadership. The time to act is now.”
(Read Putting US Nuclear Weapons Policies on Trial in the Court of Public Opinion)
Daniel Ellsberg (famous for leaking the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times), who was also arrested in 2012, said, “We were protesting a rehearsal of a holocaust… Every minuteman missile is a portable Auschwitz.”
Citing his knowledge as a former nuclear strategist, Ellsberg revealed that smoke from cities destroyed in a nuclear exchange between Russia and the US would deprive the world of 70 percent of its sunlight and cause a 10-year famine that would kill most life on the planet.
It is unconscionable that Humanity’s fate lies in the hands of people who have the arrogance to believe they can control the very tools of annihilation that they covet as tools of foreign policy.
It is not a question of whether or not nuclear weapons will ever be used, but WHEN, either by accident or intention. The only way to prevent the unthinkable is to rid the world of these horrific tools of our own destruction.
Ultimately abolition is the answer, and a practical starting point would be the decommissioning and dismantling of all ICBMs (the most unstable leg of the nuclear triad).
With the current fleet of fourteen OHIO Class “Trident” ballistic missile submarines, approximately ten of which are likely at sea at any given time, the US would have a stable and reliable nuclear force with a massive amount of nuclear firepower.
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Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
