It is altogether proper that we fear nuclear weapons. While one has not been used in 63 years – 63 years ago on this very day, in fact - the horror and devastation wrought by the two employed in the summer of 1945 was enough to usher in an age of unprecedented fear and paranoia. In the wake of that fear and paranoia a nuclear arms race would commence that would help promote a theory that to maintain nuclear détente the production of weapons was ...More »

They tried it here on the home continent and didn’t get too far. Fears that North Korean missiles might reign down on North Battleford, Saskatchewan, weren’t enough to convince the government that all out Canadian participation in the proposed defense shield was warranted. As many of you are aware, I was very much opposed to Canada’s participation in the BMD program, and was proud to stand with Steve Staples and others involved in the Ceasefire initiative against it. Unfortunately, and despite the fact the most ...More »

It’s no secret that former President Jimmy Carter has his detractors. His more recent attempts to confront the problems plaguing Israeli - Palestinian relations have drawn scorn from many quarters, with many labeling him anti-Israeli. And now, during remarks made at the recent Hay-on-Wye festival, he has done what no American President has ever dared to do – openly state that Israel possesses nuclear weapons. Despite the fact that within the international intelligence community it is widely known that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal that ...More »

Since the advent of the nuclear age, only two nuclear weapons have ever been employed, both in August of 1945 on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While many will argue that their use was required to avoid directly invading the Japanese islands, an effort that the government and military at the time claimed would cost the lives of upwards of a million US soldiers, the reality was that most of Japan has been decimated by conventional fire bombing, that the government of Japan ...More »

Two weeks ago, The London Times ran a story entitled For sale: West’s deadly nuclear secrets. The story reveals, through FBI whisatleblower Sibel Edmonds, that… “…one well-known senior official in the US State Department was being paid by Turkish agents in Washington who were selling the information on to black market buyers, including Pakistan. The name of the official – who has held a series of top government posts – is known to The Sunday Times. He strongly denies the claims. However, Edmonds said: “He was aiding foreign ...More »

When it comes to the unfolding drama regarding Iran, look no further than the Israelis for proof positive that hypocrisy is alive and well. Yesterday, Israeli’s newly appointed ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, uttered the following… "At the current rate of progress, Iran will reach the technical threshold for producing fissile material by 2009," he said. "This is a global threat and it requires a global response. "It should be made clear that if Iran does not co-operate, then military confrontation is inevitable. It is either co-operation ...More »

This is what we like to call damage control. After all sixteen of your own intelligence agencies deliver to you an estimate that is consistent with the findings of the IAEA, there’s not much left to do but play it down and continue to apply pressure. With enough face time, and the right media coverage, in a few weeks the NIE will have been forgotten, and the rhetoric employed by the administration will once again become the mainstay. I found this passage of particular interest… “They ...More »

The Vice President did his best to stall this latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran (.pdf) for as long as he could in an attempt to ensure that certain language was not included. Fortunately, given the estimate’s findings, it would appear that the Vice President’s efforts were unsuccessful. This morning the President claimed that, despite the findings of the estimate, Iran remains a global threat… “Mr Bush said the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was "an opportunity for us to rally the international community" to pressure ...More »

In an article in today’s London Times, Tim Ried begins… “President Bush imposed the harshest sanctions on Iran for a generation and branded its military a supporter of terrorism yesterday, fuelling claims that he is preparing possible air strikes against Tehran.” I have to be honest; I’m somewhat confused. In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush clearly included Iran in his “Axis of Evil”. Thus, the fact that the United States has taken this step doesn’t really come as a surprise to me, especially ...More »

Every so often someone speaks a little truth to power and pulls the crimson velvet curtain from the Kabuki Theater that passes itself off as United States foreign policy. The recently elected president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, has done just that. Correa has proclaimed that the United States may renew their lease of Eloy Alfaro Air Force Base in Ecuador on one condition... that Ecuador be allowed to open a military base in Miami... I'm quite sure that friendly and generous proposition brought down the house ...More »