INDEPENDENT NEWS

Alert! US tests weapons of mass destruction

Published: Thu 26 Sep 2002 08:41 AM
Alert! US tests weapons of mass destruction
The US National Nuclear Security Administration has announced that tomorrow, 26 September, it is doing yet another nuclear weapons test (code named 'Rocco') at the Nevada Test Site. This is the second subcritical test in the past few weeks, the previous code named 'Mario' was detonated on 29 August 2002.
The Nevada Test Site is on Western Shoshone land in Nevada, USA. Their land is subject to the Treaty of Ruby Valley - but rather than honouring the Treaty, the US and British governments have used the land for nuclear weapons tests since 1945, and have turned it into a radioactive wasteland. From 1951 to 1992, 928 full scale nuclear weapons tests were conducted on Western Shoshone land - 100 either above ground or in the atmosphere, and 828 underground.
Since the US government stopped full scale nuclear weapons tests, successive US administrations have kept the Nevada Test Site open in case they should want to resume full scale testing at any time. There have been various statements emanating from Washington over the past few months which suggest that this may happen sooner rather than later.
At this time when the George Bush and his warmongering allies are planning a new war against the people of Iraq, using the excuse that Saddam Hussein's regime is developing weapons of mass destruction, the US government's continued development of their nuclear weapons arsenal is particularly hypocritical.
George Bush's regime has more weapons of mass destruction than any one else, has used nuclear weapons and chemical weapons in the past, continues to explode nuclear devices on stolen Western Shoshone land, and has demonstrated no commitment to allowing UN weapons inspectors to examine their weapons of mass destruction production facilities and stockpiles, nor to getting rid of them.
And of course, the regime of Bush's ally, Ariel Sharon, is not about to be attacked despite its possession of nuclear weapons, see for example the report published in Haaretz today 'Israel's F-16s equipped to carry nuclear weapons' at http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=198940=2
And as for the US government's other excuse for all-out war, that Iraq has ignored United Nations resolutions, it seems they are unaware of the hundreds of UN resolutions requiring conventional, nuclear, chemical and/or biological weapons disarmament which they themselves continue to ignore (there has been an average of 21 disarmament resolutions, including some with twenty or more parts, in just the past five sessions of the UN General Assembly). And best not get started on the UN resolutions requiring the Israeli government to withdraw from Palestinian territory which are being ignored ... or the international conventions and weapons control treaties the Bush regime has ignored or sabotaged ...
*** Where you can get more information
Information about the Western Shoshone people, the Nevada Test Site, the Yucca Mountain High Level Radioactive Waste Repository (the latest outrageous plan to inflict even more toxic radioactive poisons on the Western Shoshone), is available on-line at http://www.shundahai.org

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