On May 12, 2005, Between the Lines published an interview with Dr. Helen Caldicott, an Australian anti-nuclear activist who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 (it instead went to an organization she inspired, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War). What follows is an excerpt, reprinted for educational purposes, under fair use guidelines.
BtL: Dr. Caldicott, your group which you founded back in 2002, the Nuclear Policy Research Institute, is sponsoring a conference in Washington, D.C. this May [2005]. The focus of that conference will be the weaponization of space. Tell us your concerns overall about the Bush administration and where they’re headed with a revival of the Reagan era Star Wars program and weaponizing space.
HC: OK, the conference I’ve organized is called, “Full Spectrum Dominance,” which is the term that the U.S. Space Command uses to put weapons in space, and to fight war in space and to fight war from space down to earth – and literally vaporize “cities” and effect very many killed. They are intent on anti-satellite weapons and they’re building them right now – and the two companies that are most involved in this are Lockheed-Martin and Raytheon.
Missile Defense is supposedly contrived to knock out Russia’s missiles when they launch them. However, Russia can launch 2,500 hydrogen bombs all at once, and all tests that have been conducted thus far for Missile Defense in America where a hit to kill vehicles –hitting a dummy warhead—have all failed and have all been fraudulent. It will never work according to all the physicists and scientists who are involved, and it’s going to suck up to $1 trillion in money from the American taxpayers. That’s a different system than putting actual weapons in space and launching war from space down to earth.
America plans to actually dominate space, and space is a global commons according to the United Nations law. It belongs to all of us, not just five percent of the earth’s population. So, this is an absolute violation of international law. It could in fact trigger a nuclear war, as could the National Missile Defense plans, because Russia and China have both said, “If you build a missile defense system against our missiles – which are targeted on you, we’ll just build thousands more hydrogen bombs, so we can supersaturate your system.”
Incidentally, China only has 18 weapons that can hit America. So at this point in time she’s not really involved in the nuclear arms race, although the Pentagon is being very proactive and pushing her in that direction because it’s all good for business, you see.
BtL: Where does citizen activism come in to this very bleak world where international law seems to be pushed aside by the Bush administration in setting an example for the rest of the world? Treaty after treaty, whether it’s global warming or nuclear non-proliferation or biological or chemical weapons treaties, seem to, again, be ignored or decimated by the world’s remaining superpower, the United States. Where do you have hope that things can change Dr. Caldicott?
HC: The earth is in the intensive care unit. We have an acute clinical emergency on our hands, like we did in the early 80’s when Reagan got into office. And there’s an aphorism that says, “In a dark time, the eye begins to see,” and this is a very, very dark time. I believe in the wisdom and intelligence of the American people. I believe they will do the right thing. And we just have to now get off our chairs and decide that we will save the earth – and in five years move toward bilateral nuclear disarmament with Russia. I know it can be done. I know, I’ve spoken to millions of Americans, I know how they think and feel. They desperately want to do the right thing.
