Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong told Senate estimates that she was happy to defer to Washington on whether or not the B52s stationed in Australia would carry nuclear weapons. Binoy Kampmark reports.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
As our world spirals toward the catastrophe of nuclear war, there has never been a greater need for a new global balancing and a rejection of great power war, exploitation and aggression, writes Kate Hudson.
Stuart Rees argues that the decision to own and operate United States nuclear submarines is dangerous nonsense.
Over the past three months, the world has watched the escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States with growing alarm. North Korea has continued to develop its nuclear weapons program since first testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 4.
It is unlikely either side is planning to start a nuclear war, but the situation could escalate out of control and lead to a conflict involving nuclear weapons. This would have unthinkable humanitarian and environmental consequences.
Yet the arms companies that make such a conflict possible are benefitting from the increased threat of nuclear war, along with their investors.
Seventy years ago, two split second explosions changed the course of history. The blinding light and fireballs that scorched Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the start of the atomic age. More than 200,000 people died either instantly or within a couple of months. Thousands more have died in the years since due to the radiological impacts of the bombs.