Originally published November 27 2005
U.S. physicists unite in opposing new U.S. nuclear policy
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The U.S. Defense Department has proposed to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, but 470 physicists have signed a petition opposing the policy change, and their efforts have brought attention to a matter that might have slipped under the media's radar.
The petition was started by two physics professors at the University of California, San Diego, Kim Griest and Jorge Hirsch, who said they felt an obligation to speak out about the nuclear policy change because their profession brought nuclear weapons into the world 60 years ago.
They and other prominent physicists who signed the petition---which will be delivered to members of Congress, scientific professional societies and the news media---object to the new policy because it blurs the sharp line between nuclear weapons and conventional, chemical and biological weapons.
"While it has long been a U.S. policy to use nuclear weapons in order to respond to a nuclear attack," said Hirsch, "the new policy allows the U.S. to use nuclear weapons against states that do not have nuclear weapons and for a host of new reasons, including rapid termination of a conflict on U.S. terms or to ensure success of the U.S. forces."
"Humanity has gone more than half a century without using nuclear weapons, in large part because of the success of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," said Griest.
"The U.S. use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states will destroy the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and give strong incentive for other countries to develop and use nuclear weapons, thus making nuclear war more likely.
* To demonstrate U.S. intent and capability to use nuclear weapons to deter adversary use of weapons of mass destruction.
Griest and Hirsch put their petition on the internet at http://physics.ucsd.edu/petition/, invited their colleagues to sign and quickly received an avalanche of responses.
The petition is signed by two past presidents of the American Physical Society, the premier professional organization for U.S. physicists---George Trilling of UC Berkeley and Jerome Friedman of MIT.
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