Pope Pushes for Accelerated Nuclear Disarmament

Pope urges nuclear abolition - “In his wide-ranging address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, Pope Francis delivered a powerful and notable call to action for governmental leaders to accelerate progress on steps to reduce and eliminate the grave threats posed by nuclear weapons to human life,” wrote Daryl Kimball for The National Interest.

--The Pontiff declared, “‘An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction—and possibly the destruction of all mankind—are self-contradictory… There is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, in full application of the non-proliferation Treaty, in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons…’ Francis’ comments build upon long-standing Catholic teaching about the immorality of nuclear weapons...”

--“Vatican officials have warned that ‘nuclear deterrence can hardly be the basis for peaceful coexistence among peoples and states in the 21st century’... [They] have argued that precisely because of the growing tensions between nuclear-armed nations and the risk additional states may acquire nuclear weapons, there must be renewed action for global nuclear arms control and disarmament, starting with the nuclear test ban.” Get the full opinion here. http://bit.ly/1KTH6zV

Tweet - @the_ecologist: #nuclear attack? We must support #Corbyn's refusal to murder millions! The Ecologist http://bit.ly/1j31mZ6

Russia’s new boomer - “Russia’s newest nuclear-powered submarine, the Alexander Nevsky, arrived in the far eastern Kamchatka region Wednesday, carrying Bulava nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, the Russian state news service Tass reported. The submarine, now a part of Moscow's nuclear deterrent, arrives at its new port during a time of rapid Russian military modernization and renewed rivalry with the United States and NATO,” reports Christopher Harress.

--“Each Bulava missile can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads, which means the Alexander Nevsky is armed with 160 warheads. The missile has a range of more than 5,000 miles. Russia's first Borei-class submarine, the Yuriy Dolgorukiy, was inducted into the Northern Fleet in January 2013. Moscow plans to build eight Borei-class nuclear submarines by 2020.” Read the full story at International Business Times here. http://bit.ly/1KTFfLt

Regional allies address North Korea - “Japan, the United States and South Korea agreed Tuesday to work closely together to deal with issues related to North Korea, such as a possible test launch of what they suspect to be a ballistic missile, according to a Japanese official. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters he and his U.S and South Korean counterparts, John Kerry and Yun Byung-se, reaffirmed their commitment to dealing with a possible provocative act by Pyongyang, in a meeting held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.”

--“‘We shared the recognition that any launch of a long-range ballistic missile would be a clear violation of past U.N. Security Council resolutions even if North Korea calls it a satellite,’ Kishida said... After the talks, Kishida said the three foreign ministers discussed the possibility of strengthening economic sanctions if North Korea indeed test launches a ballistic missile.” Read full story in The Japan Times here. http://bit.ly/1Vs5HAD

Tweet - @ErnestMoniz: The case for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has never been stronger. Read why: http://1.usa.gov/1QJwDuc

UN Secretary General implores CTBT ratification - “Lamenting the fact that nearly two decades after its negotiation the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) has still not entered into force, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged world leaders gathered at the United Nations to demonstrate the necessary political will to usher in a nuclear-weapon-free world… ‘A breakthrough is long overdue... I am also pleased to see representatives from States that have not yet either signed or ratified the Treaty. I count on you to do so quickly,’ said Mr. Ki-moon.” Get the full story at UN News Centre here. http://bit.ly/1P7qzxm

Tweet - @WhiteHouse: "The prohibition on nuclear weapons is strengthened; a potential war is averted; our world is safer." —@POTUS on the #IranDeal #UNGA

Quick Hits:

--“New terminology to help prevent accidental nuclear war,” by Steven Starr, Robin Collins, Rovert Green and Ernie Regehr for Bulletin for the Atomic Scientists. http://bit.ly/1LiVneT

--“Why Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal Has Proven to Be Counterproductive,” by Raza Habib Raja for Huffington Post. http://huff.to/1PPIjM0

--“Minutes To Midnight - Nuclear Fruit, Part Three,” by Ahoy on Youtube. http://bit.ly/1FKys9Y

--“Iran Terrorism Bill Won’t Help US Hostages,” by Sarah Shourd for Roll Call. http://bit.ly/1YR2Be5

Events:

--“Chinese Thinking on Nuclear Weapons,” featuring Pan Zhenqiang and Fan Jishe. Tuesday, October 6th from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM at Carnegie Endowment, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., Washington, DC. RSVP here. http://ceip.org/1LMpgTz

--“Policy & Politics of the Iran Agreement,” featuring Joe Cirincione and Bernadette Meehan. Thursday, October 8th from 4:30 - 6:00 PM at Institute for Study of Diplomacy, McGhee Library, Georgetown University, 37th and O St. NW, Washington, DC. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1OE4YgE

--“American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting: Dwight D. Eisenhower Award Special Session Panel,” featuring George Schultz and Sidney Drell. Monday, November 9th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM at Marriott Wardman Park, Exhibit Hall A, 2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington, DC. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1MobCEB

Dessert:

Silver linings of the nuclear wasteland - “Jeremy Corbyn has said in an interview that, if he were prime minister, he would refuse to use the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system. This has caused much debate and controversy. And rightly so! This naive and blinkered stance clearly doesn’t take into account the many scientifically-proven benefits of widespread global nuclear destruction so would deny people the many advantageous offered by a world scoured of life and civilisation.” Read about the many “benefits” in Dean Burrnett’s piece for The Guardian here. http://bit.ly/1M3Ri8H

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