Re-reported, compiled, edited with comment by Carolyn Bennett
A nuclear-powered state imposing overwhelming intimidation, taking liberty to proliferate, bomb and slaughter at will, has the brazen audacity to summon other states to Washington for its own photo-op on nuclear nonproliferation.
April 9, 2010
Palestine
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled plans to attend this week’s Washington conference on nuclear security.
It is “an open secret that Israel has nuclear weapons” though the country refuses to talk about its nuclear capabilities, said Dr Rebecca Johnson, director of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy, speaking with Radio Netherlands. “For a long time,” she said, Israelis have been “free riders on the nuclear Non-Proliferation regime,” benefiting from the fact that all their Arab neighbor states and Iran joined the NPT and pledged not to acquire nuclear weapons. “But now the fact that they’re refusing to engage on this nuclear security summit that India and Pakistan are both engaging in demonstrates that Israel is not prepared to take even the first step. I think that’s going to leave them much more politically vulnerable than they’re calculating.” The Nuclear Security Summit opens on Monday in Washington D.C.
NUCLEAR-POWERED LEADS INTO WASHINGTON SUMMIT sans Israel
The five nuclear weapon States ─ thus defined under the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty since they all conducted nuclear tests before 1968 ─ are China, France, the Soviet Union/Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Beyond the five Nuclear Weapon States as defined by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, there are three or four others: India (first tested in 1974); Pakistan (first tested in 1998), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (announced it had conducted a nuclear test in 2006); and Israel. Though Israel fails to report nuclear testing, it is assumed a nuclear-armed state as reported by research institutions such as the Stockholm International Peace and Research Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
The United States was the first country to start testing in 1945. The second was the former Soviet Union in 1949; the third the United Kingdom in 1952; the fourth France in 1960; the fifth China in 1964.
The only time nuclear bombs have been used was when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan during World War II: one on August 6, 1945, on the city of Hiroshima and one on August 9, 1945, on the city of Nagasaki. These bombs killed an estimated 220,000 people in Japan by the end of 1945, roughly half that number on the days of the bombings themselves.
Of the five nuclear weapon States, all but two have ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. France and the United Kingdom both ratified the CTBT on April 6, 1998. The Russian Federation ratified it on June 30, 2000. Both China and the United States signed the CTBT on September 24, 1996, but neither has ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Nuclear weapons in arsenals of nuclear states as of 2007 reached an estimated 10,000 nuclear warheads held by the United States; 15,000 held by Russia; 350 by France; 200 by China; and fewer than 200 by the United Kingdom [figures by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)]. In estimated arsenals of other nuclear-armed states not parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty were India (50-60 nuclear warheads), Israel (100-200), and Pakistan (60). Total nuclear weapons arsenals amounted to more than 26,000 nuclear warheads for the five “nuclear weapon States” and the “other” nuclear-armed states.
April 5, 2010
Afghanistan
The NATO-led force in Afghanistan has admitted the killing five Afghan civilians among the dead three women. The killing occurred during a February 12 botched night raid on a home in the Gardez district of Paktia province.…
Two newspaper reports, the Times in Britain and the New York Times in the U.S., said the foreign troops involved in the shooting were members of U.S. special forces; and there had been signs of evidence tempering “including the removal of bullets from walls near where the women had died.” Moreover, “victims’ wounds had been washed with alcohol after the bullets were removed, presumably to erase forensic evidence.”
April 9, 2010
Afghanistan
Three U.S. soldiers and one civilian employee died Thursday when a U.S. helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan… The crash raises this year’s total of foreign troop deaths during the war in Afghanistan to 151. Also among last week’s reported dead in Afghanistan were three Taliban fighters; two were injured in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz. In the neighboring province of Takhar, two more fighters died and three Afghan police officers suffered injuries.
April 11, 2010
Afghanistan
Nine people, including three Italian medical workers, have been arrested in Afghanistan for allegedly plotting to kill a provincial official.… Suicide bomb vests, hand grenades, pistols and explosives were found in a hospital storeroom run by the Italian charity Emergency where the three worked. The head of Emergency, Cecilia Strada, speaking from Milan told Al Jazeera that the claim that medical workers had plotted to kill a Helmand official was “completely groundless.”
April 12, 2010 [update]
Afghanistan (Kandahar)
Four civilians (estimated) died and 18 suffered wounds before dawn today when NATO forces opened fire on a bus in the Zhari district of Kandahar province. Though NATO authorities failed to identify the attacking forces by nationality, several Afghans said the attackers were American. Angry anti-American protests ensued on the streets of Kandahar city. Afghans blocked the main highway out of the city with burning tires. They called for the downfall of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. They chanted ‘Death to America.’
Also from Afghanistan, the Taliban have renewed threats to kill two French journalist kidnapped at the end of last year near Kabul unless a prisoner exchange is organized.… The Taliban are calling on France to arrange an exchange of the journalists for prisoners held by U.S. and Afghan authorities.
April 7, 2010
Iraq
Twelve people died. Among them were two employees of the Reuters news agency. A whistleblower website publishing anonymously sourced documents has released a video showing the U.S. military firing at a group of civilians in Baghdad three years ago and families of Iraqi civilians seen being shot and killed by U.S. forces in the leaked video are seeking justice for the deaths. The website WikiLeaks said it obtained the video from a number of ‘military whistleblowers.’ International law expert, director at the FAFO Institute for International Studies (Norway) Mark Taylor tells Al Jazeera the evidence so far ‘indicates that there’s a case to be made that a war crime may have been committed.…
‘There are precedents of U.S. soldiers being prosecuted for crimes in Iraq, for crimes of murder, rape and manslaughter so it’s not unprecedented that this could go forward both in military courts as well as in civilian criminal courts in the U.S. The case also raises larger questions about the laws of war. …’
April 11, 2010
Pakistan
An estimated 100 people died Saturday when the Pakistani military conducted air raids in the country’s northwest tribal areas. The Orazkai and Khyber regions sit close to the border with Afghanistan… The security situation in Orakzai and Kurram, deteriorationg since November of last year, according to Friday reports from the United Nations, has forced the displacement of 200,000 civilians.
Casualty sites reporting
April 11, 2010 (accurate totals unknown, usual reporting not updated)
• Anti-war dot com March 19, 2003 ─ [Since the Obama inauguration January 20, 2009: 162] Wounded 31,762-100,000; U.S. veterans with brain injuries 320,000; Suicides 18 a day [April 10 update], http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
• Iraq Body Count figures documented civilian deaths from violence: 95,822 – 104,529, http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
• ICasualties IRAQ: 4,390 U.S, 4,708 Coalition; AFGHANISTAN: 1,041 U.S., 1,721 Coalition http://icasualties.org/oif/
People and nations will not forever follow leaders who point where they themselves will not go nor will people in their hearts believe slick words of leaders whose brute force pounds them into the ground.
Sources and notes
“Israel turns its back on nuclear talks,” April 9, 2010, Radio Netherlands-Worldwide, http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/israel-turns-its-back-nuclear-talks
http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/CTBT.shtml
http://www.ctbto.org/
http://www.ctbto.org/faqs/
“Italians arrested over Afghan plot,” April 11, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201041171211170120.html
“U.S. troops killed in Afghan crash,” April 9, 2010 http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/2010497356793401.html
“NATO admits Afghan civilian deaths,” April 5, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/2010453435608194.html
“Iraqi outrage over U.S. killing video,” April 7, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/04/20104782857326667.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/04/20104520036138869.html
“‘Scores dead’ in Pakistan air raid,” April 11, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201041014445747250.html
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Status: countries that have signed, countries signed but not ratified
Total States 195
Total signed 182
Latest signatory: Trinidad & Tobago October 8, 2009
Total ratified 151
Not signed: 13
Latest ratified: Marshall Islands October 28, 2009
Not ratified 44
http://www.ctbto.org/the-treaty/status-of-signature-and-ratification/
State Party – Signed - Ratified
Afghanistan 24-SEP-2003 24-SEP-2003
Albania 27-SEP-1996 23-APR-2003
Algeria* 15-OCT-1996 11-JUL-2003
Andorra 24-SEP-1996 12-JUL-2006
Angola 27-SEP-1996
Antigua and Barbuda 16-APR-1997 11-JAN-2006
Argentina* 24-SEP-1996 04-DEC-1998
Armenia 01-OCT-1996 12-JUL-2006
Australia* 24-SEP-1996 09-JUL-1998
Austria* 24-SEP-1996 13-MAR-1998
Azerbaijan 28-JUL-1997 02-FEB-1999
Bahamas 04-FEB-2005 30-NOV-2007
Bahrain 24-SEP-1996 12-APR-2004
Bangladesh* 24-OCT-1996 08-MAR-2000
Barbados 14-JAN-2008 14-JAN-2008
Belarus 24-SEP-1996 13-SEP-2000
Belgium* 24-SEP-1996 29-JUN-1999
Belize 14-NOV-2001 26-MAR-2004
Benin 27-SEP-1996 06-MAR-2001
Bhutan
Bolivia 24-SEP-1996 04-OCT-1999
Bosnia and Herzegovina 24-SEP-1996 26-OCT-2006
Botswana 16-SEP-2002 28-OCT-2002
Brazil* 24-SEP-1996 24-JUL-1998
Brunei Darussalam 22-JAN-1997
Bulgaria* 24-SEP-1996 29-SEP-1999
Burkina Faso 27-SEP-1996 17-APR-2002
Burundi 24-SEP-1996 24-SEP-2008
Cambodia 26-SEP-1996 10-NOV-2000
Cameroon 16-NOV-2001 06-FEB-2006
Canada* 24-SEP-1996 18-DEC-1998
Cape Verde 01-OCT-1996 01-MAR-2006
Côte d'Ivoire 25-SEP-1996 11-MAR-2003
Central African Republic 19-DEC-2001
Chad 08-OCT-1996
Chile* 24-SEP-1996 12-JUL-2000
China* 24-SEP-1996
Colombia* 24-SEP-1996 29-JAN-2008
Comoros 12-DEC-1996
Congo 11-FEB-1997
Cook Islands 05-DEC-1997 06-SEP-2005
Costa Rica 24-SEP-1996 25-SEP-2001
Croatia 24-SEP-1996 02-MAR-2001
Cuba
Cyprus 24-SEP-1996 18-JUL-2003
Czech Republic 12-NOV-1996 11-SEP-1997
Democratic People`s Republic
of Korea*
Democratic Republic
of the Congo* 04-OCT-1996 28-SEP-2004
Denmark 24-SEP-1996 21-DEC-1998
Djibouti 21-OCT-1996 15-JUL-2005
Dominica
Dominican Republic 03-OCT-1996 04-SEP-2007
Ecuador 24-SEP-1996 12-NOV-2001
Egypt* 14-OCT-1996
El Salvador 24-SEP-1996 11-SEP-1998
Equatorial Guinea 09-OCT-1996
Eritrea 11-NOV-2003 11-NOV-2003
Estonia 20-NOV-1996 13-AUG-1999
Ethiopia 25-SEP-1996 08-AUG-2006
Fiji 24-SEP-1996 10-OCT-1996
Finland* 24-SEP-1996 15-JAN-1999
France* 24-SEP-1996 06-APR-1998
Gabon 07-OCT-1996 20-SEP-2000
Gambia 09-APR-2003
Georgia 24-SEP-1996 27-SEP-2002
Germany* 24-SEP-1996 20-AUG-1998
Ghana 03-OCT-1996
Greece 24-SEP-1996 21-APR-1999
Grenada 10-OCT-1996 19-AUG-1998
Guatemala 20-SEP-1999
Guinea 03-OCT-1996
Guinea-Bissau 11-APR-1997
Guyana 07-SEP-2000 07-MAR-2001
Haiti 24-SEP-1996 01-DEC-2005
Holy See 24-SEP-1996 18-JUL-2001
Honduras 25-SEP-1996 30-OCT-2003
Hungary* 25-SEP-1996 13-JUL-1999
Iceland 24-SEP-1996 26-JUN-2000
India*
Indonesia* 24-SEP-1996
Iran (Islamic Republic of)* 24-SEP-1996
Iraq 19-AUG-2008
Ireland 24-SEP-1996 15-JUL-1999
Israel* 25-SEP-1996
Italy* 24-SEP-1996 01-FEB-1999
Jamaica 11-NOV-1996 13-NOV-2001
Japan* 24-SEP-1996 08-JUL-1997
Jordan 26-SEP-1996 25-AUG-1998
Kazakhstan 30-SEP-1996 14-MAY-2002
Kenya 14-NOV-1996 30-NOV-2000
Kiribati 07-SEP-2000 07-SEP-2000
Kuwait 24-SEP-1996 06-MAY-2003
Kyrgyzstan 08-OCT-1996 02-OCT-2003
Lao People's
Democratic Republic 30-JUL-1997 05-OCT-2000
Latvia 24-SEP-1996 20-NOV-2001
Lebanon 16-SEP-2005 21-NOV-2008
Lesotho 30-SEP-1996 14-SEP-1999
Liberia 01-OCT-1996 17-AUG-2009
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 13-NOV-2001 06-JAN-2004
Liechtenstein 27-SEP-1996 21-SEP-2004
Lithuania 07-OCT-1996 07-FEB-2000
Luxembourg 24-SEP-1996 26-MAY-1999
Madagascar 09-OCT-1996 15-SEP-2005
Malawi 09-OCT-1996 21-NOV-2008
Malaysia 23-JUL-1998 17-JAN-2008
Maldives 01-OCT-1997 07-SEP-2000
Mali 18-FEB-1997 04-AUG-1999
Malta 24-SEP-1996 23-JUL-2001
Marshall Islands 24-SEP-1996 28-OCT-2009
Mauritania 24-SEP-1996 30-APR-2003
Mauritius
Mexico* 24-SEP-1996 05-OCT-1999
Micronesia,
Federated States of 24-SEP-1996 25-JUL-1997
Monaco 01-OCT-1996 18-DEC-1998
Mongolia 01-OCT-1996 08-AUG-1997
Montenegro 23-OCT-2006 23-OCT-2006
Morocco 24-SEP-1996 17-APR-2000
Mozambique 26-SEP-1996 04-NOV-2008
Myanmar 25-NOV-1996
Namibia 24-SEP-1996 29-JUN-2001
Nauru 08-SEP-2000 12-NOV-2001
Nepal 08-OCT-1996
Netherlands* 24-SEP-1996 23-MAR-1999
New Zealand 27-SEP-1996 19-MAR-1999
Nicaragua 24-SEP-1996 05-DEC-2000
Niger 03-OCT-1996 09-SEP-2002
Nigeria 08-SEP-2000 27-SEP-2001
Niue
Norway* 24-SEP-1996 15-JUL-1999
Oman 23-SEP-1999 13-JUN-2003
Pakistan*
Palau 12-AUG-2003 01-AUG-2007
Panama 24-SEP-1996 23-MAR-1999
Papua New Guinea 25-SEP-1996
Paraguay 25-SEP-1996 04-OCT-2001
Peru* 25-SEP-1996 12-NOV-1997
Philippines 24-SEP-1996 23-FEB-2001
Poland* 24-SEP-1996 25-MAY-1999
Portugal 24-SEP-1996 26-JUN-2000
Qatar 24-SEP-1996 03-MAR-1997
Republic of Korea* 24-SEP-1996 24-SEP-1999
Republic of Moldova 24-SEP-1997 16-JAN-2007
Romania* 24-SEP-1996 05-OCT-1999
Russian Federation* 24-SEP-1996 30-JUN-2000
Rwanda 30-NOV-2004 30-NOV-2004
Saint Kitts and Nevis 23-MAR-2004 27-APR-2005
Saint Lucia 04-OCT-1996 05-APR-2001
Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines 02-JUL-2009 23-SEP-2009
Samoa 09-OCT-1996 27-SEP-2002
San Marino 07-OCT-1996 12-MAR-2002
Sao Tome and Principe 26-SEP-1996
Saudi Arabia
Senegal 26-SEP-1996 09-JUN-1999
Serbia 08-JUN-2001 19-MAY-2004
Seychelles 24-SEP-1996 13-APR-2004
Sierra Leone 08-SEP-2000 17-SEP-2001
Singapore 14-JAN-1999 10-NOV-2001
Slovakia* 30-SEP-1996 03-MAR-1998
Slovenia 24-SEP-1996 31-AUG-1999
Solomon Islands 03-OCT-1996
Somalia
South Africa* 24-SEP-1996 30-MAR-1999
Spain* 24-SEP-1996 31-JUL-1998
Sri Lanka 24-OCT-1996
Sudan 10-JUN-2004 10-JUN-2004
Suriname 14-JAN-1997 07-FEB-2006
Swaziland 24-SEP-1996
Sweden* 24-SEP-1996 02-DEC-1998
Switzerland* 24-SEP-1996 01-OCT-1999
Syrian Arab Republic
Tajikistan 07-OCT-1996 10-JUN-1998
Thailand 12-NOV-1996
The former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia 29-OCT-1998 14-MAR-2000
Timor-Leste 26-SEP-2008
Togo 02-OCT-1996 02-JUL-2004
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago 08-OCT-2009
Tunisia 16-OCT-1996 23-SEP-2004
Turkey* 24-SEP-1996 16-FEB-2000
Turkmenistan 24-SEP-1996 20-FEB-1998
Tuvalu
Uganda 07-NOV-1996 14-MAR-2001
Ukraine* 27-SEP-1996 23-FEB-2001
United Arab Emirates 25-SEP-1996 18-SEP-2000
United Kingdom of
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland* 24-SEP-1996 06-APR-1998
United Republic of Tanzania 30-SEP-2004 30-SEP-2004
United States of America* 24-SEP-1996
Uruguay 24-SEP-1996 21-SEP-2001
Uzbekistan 03-OCT-1996 29-MAY-1997
Vanuatu 24-SEP-1996 16-SEP-2005
Venezuela (Bolivarian
Republic of) 03-OCT-1996 13-MAY-2002
Viet Nam* 24-SEP-1996 10-MAR-2006
Yemen 30-SEP-1996
Zambia 03-DEC-1996 23-FEB-2006
Zimbabwe 13-OCT-1999
http://www.ctbto.org/the-treaty/status-of-signature-and-ratification/
“NATO killings spark Afghan protests,” April 12, 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/20104121321185774.html
No comments:
Post a Comment