CND Press Round-Up - 9th June 2022

War in Ukraine

• A former CIA case handler has warned that NATO is “inching towards” a direct confrontation with Russia over the war in Ukraine. Robert Baer, who is promoting a book on the hunt for a former KGB agent in US intelligence in the 1990s, said: “There’s no question the West had to support Ukraine but at the same time we’re inching toward a direct conflict between NATO and Russia. Whether or not it goes nuclear is anyone’s guess.”

• Moscow’s chief rabbi is living in exile after refusing to back Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, his daughter-in-law has said. Pinchas Goldschmidt reportedly left Russia in the early weeks of the invasion after resisting official pressure to speak out in favour of what Moscow calls a ‘special operation.’ Speaking at the opening of the Conference of European Rabbis in Munich last week, Goldschmidt spoke out against the invasion and how it may end in a nuclear war: “We have to pray for peace and for the end of this terrible war. We have to pray that this war will end soon and not escalate into a nuclear conflict that can destroy humanity.”

AUKUS

• The Daily Express picks up on the Guardian’s recent story about the rising costs of Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS military pact. “The nuclear deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is facing ‘big problems’ as a new analysis shows the project known as AUKUS will cost ‘significantly more than expected,” the paper warns.

• Australia’s new Labor government has accused the opposition Coalition leader Peter Dutton of “rank politics” after it was revealed Dutton had planned to purchase two nuclear-powered submarines from the US, while Defence Minister in the previous government. Writing on Thursday, Dutton said the government should proceed with his plan to acquire two Virginia-class submarines from the US by 2030. However, under the AUKUS pact, Canberra has yet to decide whether it will use US or UK designs for its new fleet of submarines. In response, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles, said: “This outburst today, from someone so recently in the [defence minister’s] chair, is damaging to Australia’s national interest. The comments are loose and undermine the AUKUS agreement. The government has made no decision on the preferred submarine. All options remain on the table.”

Indo-Pacific Tilt

• China has hit back at claims made by Australia and Canada that it has been involved in dangerous jet manoeuvres – accusing them of “spreading misinformation.” Canberra and Ottawa recently hit out at interceptions of their aircraft by Chinese jets over the South and East China Seas. “Canadian fighter jets’ enemy reconnaissance of China is out-and-out irresponsible and provocative behaviour,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Trident / UK Nuclear Testing

• Boris Johnson met with Britain’s nuclear test veterans on Wednesday – the first Prime Minister to do so. The meeting came after pressure by veterans, their families and a campaign spearheaded by The Mirror which revealed that consecutive British government’s buried the true health impacts the nuclear testing regime had on service perseonnell. Speaking to the paper, Johnson said: “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Everybody I’ve heard from, thank you for your testimony. It’s especially heart-rending to listen to what you have to say.”

• The National covers the touring CND symbol on its way to the Faslane peace camp and its stop off in Glasgow on Thursday. Quoting our friend, Angie Zetler: “The Ukraine war has made it more obvious than ever that nuclear weapons do not prevent war. They just make it more dangerous. The bottom line with so-called ‘deterrence’ is the willingness to commit mass murder, an atrocity on a vast scale, a major war crime. It is not some common-sense insurance policy. Instead, it leads to the whole global civilian population being held hostage.”

UK Nuclear Energy

• A leaked letter from a Tory MP to Energy Minister Greg Hands has said that the government’s failure to extend the life of the Hinkley Point B nuclear plant will result in higher energy bills for households. One senior Tory MP told the i newspaper that: “There is nothing stopping [Business Secretary] Kwasi Kwarteng from having a conversation with EDF to find out how it could have been done. It is more than feasible to ask officials to look into what would be needed to keep using Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors. There is a general unwillingness from Beis to look into it.”

Nuclear Energy

• Polling by Reuters and IPSOS found that under half of Americans support nuclear power to generate electricity. Conducted last week, it found that 45 percent support nuclear power, 33 percent oppose it, and 22 percent are not sure. Of those who were in favour, 48 percent cited energy reliability, 43 percent cited lower overall pollution, and only 39 percent said they favoured it as a low-carbon energy source. Of those who opposed it, 69 percent cited the risk of nuclear meltdowns, while 64 percent said they were worried about nuclear waste.

Proliferation

• Brazil has submitted a request to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for approval to use nuclear fuel to power a submarine for the first time. Brazil is acquiring nuclear-powered subs in a deal with French firm Naval Group, but is designing the reactor itself. Reuters notes that: “So far no party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, such as Brazil, has a nuclear submarine, other than the five permanent (P5) members of the UN Security Council, also known as nuclear-weapon states: the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.”

Iran Nuclear Deal

• The board of the IAEA has agreed to a US, UK, German and French resolution to censure Iran over its failure to cooperate with the nuclear watchdog’s investigation into Tehran’s nuclear activities. It’s the first censure against Iran since 2020, and comes after Iran said it had removed two IAEA surveillance cameras installed at its nuclear sites. The IAEA has also received unsatisfactory answers about the presence of atomic particles found at undeclared nuclear sites. The resolution expressed “profound concern that the safeguards issues related to these three undeclared locations remain outstanding due to insufficient substantive co-operation by Iran.”

Fukushima

• Documents seen by Reuters shows that Japan is planning to restart its mothballed nuclear reactors but will “include strict examinations in its nuclear regulatory oversight.” It comes after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan would assess a return to nuclear power as part of efforts to decarbonise its economy and cut reliance on oil and gas imports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

CND History

• Berkshire Live has some archive photos from anti-nuclear protests at AWE Aldermaston.