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abolition-usa-digest     Sunday, November 7 1999     Volume 01 : Number 219




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Nov 1999 14:25:58 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Y2K DE-ALERTING LETTER FAXED TODAY TO US SECY OF DEFENCE COHEN, SERGEYEV.

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
Fax[phone] ph (61)(2)9517-3903
[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html


The Following has been faxed today to US Secretary for Defence William
Cohen, all US Presidential fax numbers, Russian Minister for Defence Igor
Sergeyev, Russian foreign minister I. Ivanov, John Koskinen, and Senators
Dodd and Bennett.

With it has also been faxed the FOE Sydney response to the Russian reply
from I Ivanov, I. Ivanov's reply, and the most recent collation of the
large sign on letter to Yeltsin and Clinton, now with over 460
organisations worldwide signed on to it, asking for nuclear forces to be
stood down over the y2K rollover period.

It is also to be emailed to all US congresspeople, all Australian
parliamentarians, all members of the European parliament all UN missions
and all heads of state with the current collation of the large sign on
letter.

I commend this and the large sign on letter expecially to your earnest
attention.

TO:
WILLIAM COHEN,
US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE,
[phone],

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON,
[phone], [phone],
[phone], [phone]

cc
IGOR SERGEYEV,
DEFENCE MINISTER OF RUSSIA
[phone], [phone],
[phone], [phone]

I.IVANOV, FOREIGN MINISTER OF RUSSIA,
[phone], [phone]

JOHN A. KOSKINEN, [phone]
SENATOR BOB BENNETT [phone]
SENATOR CHRIS DODD+1-202-224-1083





Y2K AND DE-ALERTING OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS


Dear Secretary for Defence Cohen and President Clinton,
I am writing  to urge your administration to take US nuclear forces off
'hairtrigger alert' even if only during the Y2K rollover period.

It is particularly disturbing that you are reported as having stated in
Moscow that de-alerting of nuclear forces is 'off the table' as a stability
building measure. You have also been quoted as saying  that 'The better
course is reduction, limiting the number of weapons, and establishing
shared early warning centers'.

These measures are not in competition with each other. All of them -
reductions in the number of weapons, the establishment of shared early
warning centers and de-alerting - are equally vital to the reduction of
tension and the establishment of strategic stability.

This is particularly the case in view of the uncertainties posed by the
millennium date change (Y2K).

As you are well aware, the largest and oldest computer system complexes in
the world are those that control nuclear weapons systems.

We are  well aware that the chief of Stratcom, Admiral Mies has said in
congressional testimony in April and July 1999 that the defence department
is 'well advanced' in terms of its Y2K-remediation program.

The Y2K problem is such that it is just not possible to be as certain as
Mies is in his testimony. This is because  very nature of this kind of
problem prohibits you from being certain that every possible programming
glitch is truly fixed. In fact no-one will be completely certain until the
real date change itself,  and indeed until well into the new year.

And even if you are able to  convincingly prove that US strategic nuclear
computer systems are truly Y2K compliant and that they are 'fail safe', you
will be well aware of the great concern that has been voiced over the Y2K
readiness of Russia.

Russia has, until recently, made little effort to even  acknowledge the Y2K
problem, let alone fix it. It is therefore quite possible that Russian
computerized control systems are not Y2K compliant and that they will
experience widespread failures during the Y2K rollover period.

Even more disquieting is the fact that that the Russians have constructed
the system known as 'Perimeter', or the 'dead hand'.

Perimeter seems to offer additional pathways by which Y2K -related  command
and control failures could lead to an accidental launch of missiles,
possibly by Y2K-related failures in sensors, combined with system blackout
fooling the system into thinking that  an attack had taken place.

The establishment of a Y2K strategic stability center in Colorado is
certainly an advantageous move and an absolutely essential one.

However, it does not entirely remove the danger of an accidental launch of
nuclear weapons.

The fact that the Center is scheduled, as far as the public is aware, to
come into operation only on December 27th, four days prior to the rollover,
is itself far from reassuring. A four day delay will render it useless.

Similarly, the center itself will depend on the availability of
ultra-reliable hotlines between it and Moscow. The recently admitted Y2K
vulnerabilities  discovered, according to Reuters reports of congressional
testimony, in six of the seven hotlines established during the cold war
period are also cause for deep concern.

If nuclear weapons are removed from a status in which they can be launched
within minutes, and placed in one which would require at least days to
launch, the risk of an accidental missile launch induced by Y2K or other
errors in command and control systems will be virtually eliminated.

This  has been done by the UK, which has moved the 'notice to fire' for its
missile forces from minutes to days.

De-alerting of nuclear forces was strongly recommended by the Canberra
Commission in 1996 as a way to develop strategic stability and build trust
between the US and Russia. It has also been incorporated into last year's
and  this years text of the New Agenda Resolution in the UN General
Assembly.

In addition it has been the subject of two resolutions passed by the
Australian Senate on 12 August and 20 September.

(Text of these resolutions has been passed on to you by the deputy
president of our Senate, Senator Sue West, copy is enclosed.)

Mr. Clinton and Mr. Cohen, we believe that in taking De-alerting 'off the
table', the United States is making a serious error. We believe that
failure to take nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert over the Y2K
'rollover' period is an error that has the potential of causing unthinkable
consequences.

The probability of this may be low but it  will never be zero as long as
nuclear forces remain on hair-trigger alert.

In a letter in response to a sign on letter from over 270 (now 460) NGOs,
Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov  said that:
"The questions of removing from the military duty of Russian and American
nuclear armaments which you mention in your appeal may become the matter
for discussion between the two countries in the context of negotiations on
further limitation of the strategic nuclear weapons"

This hardly indicates that De-alerting is 'off the table' as far as the
Russian Government is concerned.  It should be very much on the table as
far as your administration is concerned.

In a previous administration, President Bush took strategic bomber forces
off alert. We urge you to do this with all US nuclear forces.

(Text of the Russian reply with English translation to our letter is
enclosed, together with our response to the Russian reply.).

(The latest compilation of the large sign on letter to Yeltsin and Clinton,
asking for nuclear weapons to be taken off hairtrigger alert is also
enclosed.)

Signed

John Hallam, Nuclear Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Sydney,
Ricardo Navarro, Friends of the Earth El Salvador,
Nnimmo Bassey, Director, Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Benin City, Nigeria,
Kika Kapela, Friends of the Earth Cyprus,

Yumi Kikuchi, Co-Founder and International Coordinator, Y2K-WASH (World
Atomic Safety Holiday) Chiba, Japan,
Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance, The Hague,
Xanthe Hall, IPPNW(Germany), Berlin, Germany,
Tom Mc Donald, British-American Security Information Council,(BASIC) London,
Paul Swann, Y2K WASH (World Atomic Safety Holiday), London,

Jenny Maxwell, West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Birmingham, UK.,
Anni Rainbow and Lindis Percy, Campaign for the Accountability of US Bases,
Yorkshire, UK.,
George Thomas, Founder/Coordinator, Earth Millennium Project, London, UK,
Di Mc Donald, Network Information Project, Southampton, UK,
Solange Fernex, President, Womens International League for Peace and
Freedom,(WILPF) Paris, France,
Bruno Barrillot, Directeur, Centre de Documentation et de Recherche sur la
Paix et les Conflits, Lyon, France,
Maurice Sistermans, Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples, Amsterdam.
Klaus Biegert, Nuclear-Free Future Award, Munich, Germany,
Bernd Frieboese, BarsebΣckoffensiv, Germany,
Prof., Dirk Siefkes, Techn. Universitaet Informatik, Berlin,
Ada Amon, Executive Director, Energy Club, Budapest, Hungary,
Ulla Lehtinen, First Peoples, Finland,
Marion Hancock, Aotearoa Peace Foundation, Auckland, NZ.,
Dr. Komei Hosokawa, Saga University, Saga City, Japan,

Pan-Hellenic Network of Environment Organizations Greece,
Gordon Edwards, President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility,
Montreal, Canada,

Alice Slater, Global Resource and Action Centre for the Environment, NY.,
Ellen Thomas, Proposition-One Committee, Washington DC.,
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director, Tri-Valley CAREs, (Communities Against
a Radioactive Environment), Livermore, CA,
Carah Ong, Abolition 2000 Coordinator,
David Krieger, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Sanata Barbara, California,
Robert W. Tiller, Physicians for Social Responsibility, USA,
Michael Marriotte, Executive Director, Nuclear Information and Resource
Service, Washington DC.,

Bill Smirnow, Nuclear Free New York, Huntingdon, NY,
William F.  Santlemann, Metro-Boston Committee to De-Alert Nuclear Weapons,
Judith H. Johnsrud, Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power, Pennsylvania,

Laurie Grossman, Y2K-WASH,(World Atomic Safety Holiday) San Francisco,
Mary Beth Branagan, Y2K-WASH San Francisco,
Robyn Wolf, World Atomic Safety Holiday, Richmond, CA.,
Annie Wildwood, Y2K-WASH, Bolinas, California,

Bob Kinsey, Peace and Justice Task Force, United Church of Christ, Rocky
Mountain Conference, Arvada, Colorado,
Reverend Robert Moore, Coalition for Peace Action,   Princeton, NJ,
Reverends Eleanor Mercer and Meredith Jordan, Rogers Mc Kay, Maine,
Byron Plumley, American Friends Service Committee, Colorado,

Anthony Guarisco, Alliance of Atomic Veterans, USA.,
Mel H. Kernahan, Alliance for Survival, Orange County, California,
Mary Byrd Davis, Director, Ygdrassil Institute,(Earth Island) Georgetown, Ky,
Scott Miller, Director, Peace Action Maine, Portland, Me,
Rosalie Tyler Paul, Peace Action Maine, Portland, Me,
Dan Ogden, Sawmill River Watershed Alliance, Ma, USA.,
Barbara Messana, Lawrence Grassroots Initiative, Lawrence, Ma,
Christopher H. Peters, Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development,
Arcata, Calif,
Nick Cooney, Student Activists Group, Hofstra University, NY.,
Deb Katz, Director, Citizen Awareness Network, MA.,
Ed Meagher, Merrimac Valley People for Peace
Elsie Harvey, Greater Lansing Peace Education Centre, Michigan,
Mark Krumholtz, Centre for Particle Astrophysics, University of California,
Berkley,
Dr. Julian Borrill, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, Berkley, Calif,
Prof. Wendy Griffin, California State University, Long Beach, Calif,
Caroll S. Wallace, Director, Everywomans Centre, University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, MA,

Irene Gale AM, Babs Fuller-Quinn, Australian Peace Committee, Adelaide/Sydney,
Gareth Devenish, Goongerah Environment Centre,
Galen White, Treefrog Consulting Pty Ltd., Information technology
Consultants,


- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 12:55:50 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) FAX NOW TO TAKE N-WEAPONS OFF ALERT FOR Y2K

FAX COHEN, YELTSIN NOW TO TAKE N-WEAPONS OFF ALERT FOR Y2K
(Please forward this email to everyone you know. Sorry for the inevitable
multiple postings.)

Dear All who recieve this email,

I am emailing you to ask you to send a fax to the US Secretary for Defence,
William Cohen and to President Yeltsin and his Defence Minister Igor
Sergeyev, asking them to take their strategic nuclear weapons off
hairtrigger alert over the Y2K 'rollover' period at least.

Arguably it could be the most important fax you ever make. That is why I
have sent this out to so many people unasked, and thats why this appeal
will be posted a few times. I ask you to be patient with that, as the
subject is (at least potentially)  literally the end of the world.

If you are an organisation, I also urge you to sign on to the global
de-alerting letter to Yeltsin and Clinton, now signed by over 460
organisations, that can be found on:
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html

We are 54 days away from the Year2000 date change. The largest, oldest, and
initially at least, the least Y2K compliant computer systems in the world
are those that control and monitor nuclear weapons systems in the US and
Russia.  The US has some2,000 nuclear warheads in land- based silos, and
the Russians have some 3,600 warheads in land based silos. (this doesn't
count weapons in submarines, bombers, etc). These land- based missiles are
able to be launched at a few minutes notice.

A number of respected commentators have said that unless nuclear forces in
Russia and the US are taken off hairtrigger alert before late December,
there will be  small but definite risk of accidental nuclear war due to
simple Y2K- related computer error.

In any case, with or without Y2K, taking nuclear weapons off hairtrigger
alert is a commonsense idea, strongly reccommended by the 1996 Canberra
Commission and by a number of UN resolutions including one passed in the
last few days.

A global campaign exists to take all nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert.
The UK has already done so.

If you think it's an irresponsible risk to the entire planet to keep
nuclear forces on alert even over the Y2K rollover, when no matter how much
has been spent on Y2K 'remediation' we cannot be certain that it is all
going to work flawlessly on the day, then PLEASE let Secretary Cohen,
Clinton, Yeltsin and Sergeyev (in that order of priority)  know that you
want them taken off alert.

You can fax US Defence Secretary  Cohen on [phone],
Clinton on [phone], and Yeltsin and Sergeyev on [phone],

If you have the time it's best to fax all three. if you can only fax one,
fax Cohen.

Sample letters are below. Study them and write your own, or just send this
as below.


Do study the sample letters below and fax to Cohen/Clinton and
Yeltsin/Sergeyev. And if you are an organisation, do please sign the big
sign-on letter. It will help to make the planet a safer place!


1)SAMPLE LETTER TO COHEN/CLINTON

(THIS IS FOR INDIVIDUALS TO USE TO SEND TO COHEN AND CLINTON YOURSELVES.)

TO:
WILLIAM COHEN, US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE,
[phone],

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON,
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, US,
[phone]


Dear President Clinton and Secretary for Defence Cohen,
I am writing  to urge your administration to take US nuclear forces off
'hairtrigger alert' even if only during the Y2K rollover period.

It is particularly disturbing that you are reported as having stated in
Moscow that de-alerting of nuclear forces is 'off the table' as a stability
building measure. You have also been quoted as saying  that 'The better
course is reduction, limiting the number of weapons, and establishing
shared early warning centers'.

These measures are not in competition with each other. All of them -
reductions in the number of weapons, the establishment of shared early
warning centers and de-alerting - are  vital to the reduction of tension
and the establishment of strategic stability.

This is particularly the case in view of the uncertainties posed by the
millennium date change (Y2K).

As you are well aware, the largest and oldest computer system complexes in
the world are those that control nuclear weapons systems.

The very nature of the Y2K problem makes it impossible to be sure
everything has been fixed until well into the new year.

Russia has, until recently, made little effort to even  acknowledge the Y2K
problem, let alone fix it. It is therefore quite possible that Russian
computerized control systems are not Y2K compliant and that they will
experience widespread failures during the Y2K rollover period.

Even more disquieting is the fact that that the Russians have constructed
the system known as 'Perimeter', or the 'dead hand'. This system seems to
include additional ways in which Y2K failure might lead to an accidental
launch.

The establishment of a Y2K strategic stability center in Colorado is
certainly an advantageous move and an absolutely essential one.

However, it does not entirely remove the danger of an accidental launch of
nuclear weapons.

The fact that the Center is scheduled, as far as we the public are aware,
to come into operation only on December 27th, four days prior to the
rollover, is far from reassuring. A four day delay will render it useless.

Similarly, the center itself will depend on the availability of
ultra-reliable hotlines between it and Moscow. The  Y2K vulnerabilities
discovered in six of the seven hotlines established during the cold war
period are also cause for deep concern.

If nuclear weapons are removed from a status in which they can be launched
within minutes, and placed in one which would require at least days to
launch, the risk of an accidental missile launch induced by Y2K or other
errors in command and control systems will be virtually eliminated.

This  has been done by the UK, which has moved the 'notice to fire' for its
missile forces from minutes to days.

De-alerting of nuclear forces was strongly recommended by the Canberra
Commission in 1996 as a way to develop strategic stability and build trust
between the US and Russia. It has also been incorporated into last year's
and  this years text of the New Aganda Resolution in the UN General
Assembly.
In addition it has been the subject of two resolutions passed by the
Australian Senate on 12 August and 20September.

In taking De-alerting 'off the table', the United States is making a
serious error. Failure to take nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert over
the Y2K 'rollover' period is an error that has the potential of causing
unthinkable consequences.

The probability of this may be low,  but it  will never be zero as long as
nuclear forces remain on hair-trigger alert.

In a previous administration, President Bush took strategic bomber forces
off alert. We urge you to do this with all US nuclear forces.

(SIGNED)
etc.


2)SAMPLE LETTER TO YELTSIN/DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV

(THIS SAMPLE LETTER IS FOR YOU PERSONALLY TO FAX, CUSTOMIZED AS YOU FEEL
BEST, TO YELTSIN AND DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV. PLEASE DO FAX IT AND SEND
IT NOW.)


PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN,
IGOR SERGEYEV,  RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER,
[phone],

'Dear Defence Minister Sergeyev and President Yeltsin,

I am writing to convey my deep concern that Y2K-related computer failures
in the command and control systems for nuclear weapons may lead to an
accidental nuclear war.

I am aware that both Russia and the US have taken this problem seriously
enough to establish a joint strategic stability center in Colorado.
However, I am very much concerned that this facility will come into
operation only by 27th December 1999, so that a delay of just four days
will make it useless.

I am also very much concerned that Y2K problems have been found in six out
of seven of the 'hotlines' that would be used if a crisis of any sort arose
over the Y2K rollover period.

I am aware that there have been a number of occasions when either the US or
Russia have mistakenly believed that the other nation was in the process of
launching a nuclear attack.

With 3,600 Russian warheads on 700 missiles and 2,000 US warheads on 500
missiles, with each side capable to launch within roughly 20 minutes, this
must never be allowed to happen, either over the Y2K 'rollover', or at any
other time.

The use of 5,600 warheads would certainly mean the end of what we call
civilization, would likely mean the end of the human race and could
possibly mean the end of all life.

I therefore urge both you and the United States, to place all your nuclear
forces in a status in which at least days not minutes, would be required to
launch . The United Kingdom has, I understand, already done this.

The immediate stakes are so high and the potential for global catastrophe
is so great, that mutually verified de-alerting of nuclear forces in the
face of the Y2K computer problem must take precedence over all other
considerations of political and national security.'
(Signed)
etc.

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
Fax[phone] ph (61)(2)9517-3903
[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html



- -
 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
 For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
 "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 12:55:50 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) FAX NOW TO TAKE N-WEAPONS OFF ALERT FOR Y2K

FAX COHEN, YELTSIN NOW TO TAKE N-WEAPONS OFF ALERT FOR Y2K
(Please forward this email to everyone you know. Sorry for the inevitable
multiple postings.)

Dear All who recieve this email,

I am emailing you to ask you to send a fax to the US Secretary for Defence,
William Cohen and to President Yeltsin and his Defence Minister Igor
Sergeyev, asking them to take their strategic nuclear weapons off
hairtrigger alert over the Y2K 'rollover' period at least.

Arguably it could be the most important fax you ever make. That is why I
have sent this out to so many people unasked, and thats why this appeal
will be posted a few times. I ask you to be patient with that, as the
subject is (at least potentially)  literally the end of the world.

If you are an organisation, I also urge you to sign on to the global
de-alerting letter to Yeltsin and Clinton, now signed by over 460
organisations, that can be found on:
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html

We are 54 days away from the Year2000 date change. The largest, oldest, and
initially at least, the least Y2K compliant computer systems in the world
are those that control and monitor nuclear weapons systems in the US and
Russia.  The US has some2,000 nuclear warheads in land- based silos, and
the Russians have some 3,600 warheads in land based silos. (this doesn't
count weapons in submarines, bombers, etc). These land- based missiles are
able to be launched at a few minutes notice.

A number of respected commentators have said that unless nuclear forces in
Russia and the US are taken off hairtrigger alert before late December,
there will be  small but definite risk of accidental nuclear war due to
simple Y2K- related computer error.

In any case, with or without Y2K, taking nuclear weapons off hairtrigger
alert is a commonsense idea, strongly reccommended by the 1996 Canberra
Commission and by a number of UN resolutions including one passed in the
last few days.

A global campaign exists to take all nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert.
The UK has already done so.

If you think it's an irresponsible risk to the entire planet to keep
nuclear forces on alert even over the Y2K rollover, when no matter how much
has been spent on Y2K 'remediation' we cannot be certain that it is all
going to work flawlessly on the day, then PLEASE let Secretary Cohen,
Clinton, Yeltsin and Sergeyev (in that order of priority)  know that you
want them taken off alert.

You can fax US Defence Secretary  Cohen on [phone],
Clinton on [phone], and Yeltsin and Sergeyev on [phone],

If you have the time it's best to fax all three. if you can only fax one,
fax Cohen.

Sample letters are below. Study them and write your own, or just send this
as below.


Do study the sample letters below and fax to Cohen/Clinton and
Yeltsin/Sergeyev. And if you are an organisation, do please sign the big
sign-on letter. It will help to make the planet a safer place!


1)SAMPLE LETTER TO COHEN/CLINTON

(THIS IS FOR INDIVIDUALS TO USE TO SEND TO COHEN AND CLINTON YOURSELVES.)

TO:
WILLIAM COHEN, US SECRETARY OF DEFENCE,
[phone],

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON,
WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, US,
[phone]


Dear President Clinton and Secretary for Defence Cohen,
I am writing  to urge your administration to take US nuclear forces off
'hairtrigger alert' even if only during the Y2K rollover period.

It is particularly disturbing that you are reported as having stated in
Moscow that de-alerting of nuclear forces is 'off the table' as a stability
building measure. You have also been quoted as saying  that 'The better
course is reduction, limiting the number of weapons, and establishing
shared early warning centers'.

These measures are not in competition with each other. All of them -
reductions in the number of weapons, the establishment of shared early
warning centers and de-alerting - are  vital to the reduction of tension
and the establishment of strategic stability.

This is particularly the case in view of the uncertainties posed by the
millennium date change (Y2K).

As you are well aware, the largest and oldest computer system complexes in
the world are those that control nuclear weapons systems.

The very nature of the Y2K problem makes it impossible to be sure
everything has been fixed until well into the new year.

Russia has, until recently, made little effort to even  acknowledge the Y2K
problem, let alone fix it. It is therefore quite possible that Russian
computerized control systems are not Y2K compliant and that they will
experience widespread failures during the Y2K rollover period.

Even more disquieting is the fact that that the Russians have constructed
the system known as 'Perimeter', or the 'dead hand'. This system seems to
include additional ways in which Y2K failure might lead to an accidental
launch.

The establishment of a Y2K strategic stability center in Colorado is
certainly an advantageous move and an absolutely essential one.

However, it does not entirely remove the danger of an accidental launch of
nuclear weapons.

The fact that the Center is scheduled, as far as we the public are aware,
to come into operation only on December 27th, four days prior to the
rollover, is far from reassuring. A four day delay will render it useless.

Similarly, the center itself will depend on the availability of
ultra-reliable hotlines between it and Moscow. The  Y2K vulnerabilities
discovered in six of the seven hotlines established during the cold war
period are also cause for deep concern.

If nuclear weapons are removed from a status in which they can be launched
within minutes, and placed in one which would require at least days to
launch, the risk of an accidental missile launch induced by Y2K or other
errors in command and control systems will be virtually eliminated.

This  has been done by the UK, which has moved the 'notice to fire' for its
missile forces from minutes to days.

De-alerting of nuclear forces was strongly recommended by the Canberra
Commission in 1996 as a way to develop strategic stability and build trust
between the US and Russia. It has also been incorporated into last year's
and  this years text of the New Aganda Resolution in the UN General
Assembly.
In addition it has been the subject of two resolutions passed by the
Australian Senate on 12 August and 20September.

In taking De-alerting 'off the table', the United States is making a
serious error. Failure to take nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert over
the Y2K 'rollover' period is an error that has the potential of causing
unthinkable consequences.

The probability of this may be low,  but it  will never be zero as long as
nuclear forces remain on hair-trigger alert.

In a previous administration, President Bush took strategic bomber forces
off alert. We urge you to do this with all US nuclear forces.

(SIGNED)
etc.


2)SAMPLE LETTER TO YELTSIN/DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV

(THIS SAMPLE LETTER IS FOR YOU PERSONALLY TO FAX, CUSTOMIZED AS YOU FEEL
BEST, TO YELTSIN AND DEFENCE MINISTER SERGEYEV. PLEASE DO FAX IT AND SEND
IT NOW.)


PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN,
IGOR SERGEYEV,  RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER,
[phone],

'Dear Defence Minister Sergeyev and President Yeltsin,

I am writing to convey my deep concern that Y2K-related computer failures
in the command and control systems for nuclear weapons may lead to an
accidental nuclear war.

I am aware that both Russia and the US have taken this problem seriously
enough to establish a joint strategic stability center in Colorado.
However, I am very much concerned that this facility will come into
operation only by 27th December 1999, so that a delay of just four days
will make it useless.

I am also very much concerned that Y2K problems have been found in six out
of seven of the 'hotlines' that would be used if a crisis of any sort arose
over the Y2K rollover period.

I am aware that there have been a number of occasions when either the US or
Russia have mistakenly believed that the other nation was in the process of
launching a nuclear attack.

With 3,600 Russian warheads on 700 missiles and 2,000 US warheads on 500
missiles, with each side capable to launch within roughly 20 minutes, this
must never be allowed to happen, either over the Y2K 'rollover', or at any
other time.

The use of 5,600 warheads would certainly mean the end of what we call
civilization, would likely mean the end of the human race and could
possibly mean the end of all life.

I therefore urge both you and the United States, to place all your nuclear
forces in a status in which at least days not minutes, would be required to
launch . The United Kingdom has, I understand, already done this.

The immediate stakes are so high and the potential for global catastrophe
is so great, that mutually verified de-alerting of nuclear forces in the
face of the Y2K computer problem must take precedence over all other
considerations of political and national security.'
(Signed)
etc.

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
Fax[phone] ph (61)(2)9517-3903
[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html


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Date: Sun, 07 Nov 1999 07:38:16 -0500
From: Ellen Thomas <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Abolition Global Caucus

Is this instead of igc.apc.org?

Ellen

At 04:39 PM 11/4/99 -0800, you wrote:
>Dear Friends,
>
>I am happy to announce that Egroups.com will now host the Abolition Global
>Caucus.
____________________________________________________________

* Peace Through Reason - http://prop1.org - Convert the War Machines! *
____________________________________________________________

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Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 21:26:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) US Nuclear Weapons Program

I am trying to write a letter to the editor about our nuclear weapons
program.  What new nuclear weapons are we preparing to produce over the next
few years?  How many nuclear weapons will we produce, and for how much?  (I
have heard or read 80 nuclear weapons, and $24.6 billion per year for
nuclear weapons, and $4.5 billion/year for the Stockpile Stewardship
Program).  What is the difference between Stockpile Stewardship, and the
total nuclear weapons program?


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Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 22:02:38 -0800 (PST)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Nuclear Weapons and 10th Anniversary Of End Of Cold War

Below is a letter I sent to the editor about nuclear weapons:

To the editor:

November 9th is the 10th anniversary of the end of the Cold War and the
opening of the Berlin Wall.  On this 10th anniversary, I would like the
great reporters of this great newspaper to ask President Clinton,
Presidential candidates, and other politicians the following questions:

I. Ten years after the end of the Cold War, both the US and Russia continue
to keep the bulk of their nuclear missiles on high level "hair-trigger"
alert, ready to launch on the mere warning of an attack.  Within just a few
minutes of receiving instructions to fire, a large fraction of the US and
Russian land-based rockets (which are armed with about 2,000 and 3,500
warheads respectively) could begin their 25-minute flights over the North
Pole to their targets.  Less than 15 minutes after receiving the order to
attack, six US Trident submarines at sea could fire about 1,000 warheads and
several Russian ballistic missile submarines could launch between 300 and
400.  Why do the U.S. and Russia still maintain thousands of nuclear
warheads on hair trigger alert, ready to blow up each other within half an
hour?  Do you believe that such a situation enhances our security?

II. 10 years after the end of the Cold War, the U.S. still deploys 6,000
nuclear warheads.  Why do we still have so many nuclear weapons (when the
Pentagon says that 5,000 would be enough, and it would take only a few
hundred at most to devastate any nation in the world)?

III. The U.S. has a "Stockpile Stewardship and Management" program, intended
to maintain and expand U.S. nuclear weapons capabilities well into the next
century.  A DOE document admits that "The ability to design nuclear weapons
is the core of DOE program and is utilized in all other aspects of the
program ... The nuclear design capability will be maintained by pursuing an
understanding of the underlying physics of nuclear weapons and exercising
the process of design of nuclear weapons ... A limited number of new nuclear
component design requirements are foreseeable in the future."  (U.S. Dept.
of Energy, Office of Defense Programs, Stockpile Stewardship and Management
Plan, February 29, 1996, unclassified version, p. VII-3).  The Stockpile
Stewardship and Management Program includes "subcritical" nuclear tests (7
since 1997, using amounts of plutonium too small to "go critical" and cause
a nuclear explosion), supercomputer simulations of nuclear explosions, and
the National Ignition Facility (which would use 192 lasers to cause small
fusion explosions, helping weapons scientists advance their knowledge of
nuclear explosions).  During the next decade, taxpayers will spend about $45
billion for this program, an annual rate higher than the Cold War average.
How can the U.S. expect other nations to not develop or test nuclear weapons
if we conduct nuclear tests and continue to develop nuclear weapons?  Why is
the U.S. still developing new nuclear weapons, such as an earth penetrating
warhead (B61-11)?  With the USSR gone, who are we planning to use nuclear
weapons against?

IV. In response to our 7 subcritical nuclear tests (which the DOE claims is
"fully consistent with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty"), the Russians
have conducted their own subcritical nuclear tests at Novaya Zemlya.
Opponents of the CTBT seized on the Russian subcritical tests as a reason to
vote against the CTBT.  How can U.S. subcritical tests be consistent with
the CTBT and Russian subcritical tests be inconsistent with the CTBT?  Isn't
this hypocritical?

V. Opponents of the recently rejected CTBT argued that it would prevent
further US advances in nuclear weapons.  This implies that they favor
continued U.S. development of nuclear weapons.  How do they expect other
nations to not develop nuclear weapons if the U.S. continues to develop
nuclear weapons?


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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 16:51:12 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) letters, faxes, emails,  burnout, and excess

Lately I've been trying to revive a campaign to get people to send faxes to
William Cohen, US defence secretary, and Yeltsin.

This was preceded by a sign on letter to US  Defence Secretary Cohen.

The sign on letter was faxed with around 100 signatures on Saturday, Sydney
time (18 hours ahead of US time, or 6 hours behind on the following day).

The feedback I recieved is that people may not understand whay I am asking
them to fax 'again'.

This is the first time Cohen has been faxed.

He has not been targeted before.

He said not so long ago in Moscow that de-alerting was 'off the table', and
as he is the responsible US official, this is bad news.

He needs to hear, especially from US people, but from others also that this
is a bad mistake and that he should put it back on the table very quickly.

That's why I am asking people not only to sign on to the letter to Cohen,
which has now gone, but also to fax him yourselves.

I have certainly been persistent with this message but...yesterday was in
fact the first time I had actually posted a request to people in the US to
fax Cohen, and only the second time I have actually posted one to fax
Yeltsin and Sergeyev.

There have been many many requests to sign the big sign on letter. That is
not the same thing.

I will be posting similar requests at regular intervals till Mid december.

Do please if you have not done so, don't just press delete until you have
actually faxed or mailed either one or both of the folk I'm asking you to
fax. This isn't meant to spam you, but to if possible, get nuclear weapons
taken off alert.



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------------------------------

End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #219
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