June 8, 2004
A MESSAGE FROM GSI’S MANAGING DIRECTOR
Dear Friends:
I was recently in New York City with Global Security Institute (GSI) President Jonathan Granoff and Middle Powers Initiative (MPI) Chairman Senator Douglas Roche for a reception at the home of Elizabeth and Joe Bianco, with Christie Brinkley honoring GSI Advisor Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima. The reception kicked off several important meetings we hosted at the United Nations focusing on “Ensuring Full Implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
The importance of our work hit home during an elevator ride, when I overheard some young people talking about packing their “go-to” bags, bags that they rely on in case of an evacuation. They were most worried about a nuclear weapon attack in New York. Their fear was raw and very disturbing.
We are all aware of the dangers of terrorists using nuclear materials, but too often we overlook the thousands of weapons the U.S. and Russia maintain on hair-trigger alert. People tend to ignore the U.S. failure to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and don’t take seriously the administration’s aspirations to build new, “usable” nuclear weapons. (See today’s New York Times editorial.) The public needs to be aware that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its web of related treaties are under assault from unilateralist policies and an insistence on the rule of force rather than the rule of law.
Nuclear weapons are an issue of personal security, and they dominate the consciousness of young people and adults alike. Organizations like GSI cannot wait until November 3rd to raise the critical funds that are necessary to implement our work. Please support GSI by making a donation today! When I think about the greatest threat to our way of life, I am convinced that ending nuclear weapons must be a priority in my personal giving and public service. I hope you will join me in that sentiment.
All the best,
Kath Delaney
Managing Director
AN APPEAL FROM CHRISTIE BRINKLEY
Dear Friends:
I am not an expert on nuclear weapons or global politics, but I do have enough common sense to know two things:
First, nuclear weapons threaten the lives of billions of people. And second, my country will be unable to persuade others not to acquire nuclear weapons while insisting on our right to plan and build new ones.
As a mother it is very clear that one can never change behavior with a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude.
Children see through this and surely nations see through the illogic of my country telling others not to develop weapons of mass destruction while we rely so heavily on them. It is not logical, nor moral.
Universal disarmament is the only sensible course.
NPT IN GRAVE DANGER, MPI REPORT CONCLUDES
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is headed for disaster if current policies do not change, according to a recent report released by the Middle Powers Initiative.
“The present crisis is the worst in the 34-year history of the NPT,” said the report’s author, Senator Douglas Roche of Canada.
Entitled “Re-nuclearization or Disarmament: A Fateful Choice for Humanity,” the report is a political analysis of the Third Preparatory Committee Meeting for the 2005 Review Conference of the NPT.
NEW ZEALAND MINISTER MARIAN HOBBS CALLS FOR GLOBAL NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, THANKS MPI
On Monday, April 26, the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI), led by Senator Douglas Roche from Canada, held a Forum on “Ensuring Full Implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” The public event, attended by 30 government and 40 NGO representatives, was chaired by Dr. Randy Rydell, Senior Political Affairs Officer in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations.
Keynote speaker Marian Hobbs, New Zealand’s Minister for Disarmament, underscored the centrality of nuclear disarmament in the effort to stem nuclear proliferation. “The possession of nuclear weapons by any state is a constant stimulus to other states to acquire them,” Minister Hobbs stressed. “Proliferation of nuclear weapons will only cease when the weapons themselves cease to exist.”
ARMS CONTROL EXPERTS MEET ON CAPITOL HILL TO REVIEW THE PRESIDENT’S NON-PROLIFERATION PROPOSALS
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Rep. Ed Markey, Amb. Henrik Salander, Jonathan Granoff, Rep. Chris Shays |
In response to the President’s non-proliferation proposals announced in February, the House Bipartisan Task Force on Non-Proliferation, in cooperation with the Global Security Institute’s Bipartisan Security Group, hosted a high-level panel discussion on Capitol Hill on April 27, 2004 on the theme: ‘Seven Sound Strategies? The President’s Non-Proliferation Proposals.’
Following the panel, discussions were held with Members of Congress.
Addressing the crowd of House staffers, panelists Ambassador Henrik Salander, Secretary General of the recently launched Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Commission; Dr. Ivan Oelrich, a security analyst at the Federation of American Scientists; and Ambassador Jonathan Dean, an advisor on arms control and international security issues at the Union of Concerned Scientists, discussed the viability of the proposals in the context of the current state of the international non-proliferation regime. Ambassador Robert T. Grey, Jr., director of the Bipartisan Security Group, moderated the discussion.
STEFANIE PLEET COYOTE JOINS GSI’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Global Security Institute board of directors is pleased to welcome Stefanie Pleet Coyote as its newest member.
Stefanie Pleet Coyote is an accomplished and active member of the film, arts and music community. She has 15 years of professional experience as a location manager on feature films in San Francisco, and as a producer and a professional singer. Her credits include “The Rock,” “The Game,” “Hurlyburly,” “Jade,” “The Bachelor,” and “Village of the Damned.” She produced the video for Jerry Garcia and David Grisman of “The Thrill is Gone,” featured in the documentary film “Grateful Dawg.” She also serves on the Advisory Board of ActiveMusic, a non-profit dedicated to sustainable philanthropy and social change. Stefanie has a BA in Communications from Pennsylvania State University.
