Use of Nuclear Weapons – What have we learned?

One of the most important functions of the study of history is to guide us in the present to avoid the mistakes of the past. The 1949 Advisory Group which Oppenheimer chaired, and which made recommendations to Truman on whether to pursue development of the hydrogen bomb, concluded that the h-bomb met no useful military purpose, and should not be pursued. Truman disagreed, and the arms race was born.

Here is what the current Presidential candidates are saying about the use of nuclear weapons:

Hillary Clinton (D), on 1/5/2008, at Manchester, NH, in the Democratic Candidates Debate, on the use of nuclear weapons:
"You know, deterrence worked during the Cold War in large measure because the United States made it clear to the Soviet Union that there would be massive retaliation. We have to make it clear to those states that would give safe haven to stateless terrorists, that would launch a nuclear attack against America that they would also face a very heavy retaliation."*

John McCain (R), on 8/5/2007, at the GOP Iowa Straw Poll Debate, on the use of nuclear weapons:
"It's naive to say that we will never use nuclear weapons."*

Barack Obama (D), on 8/2/2007, from the Associate Press, on the use of nuclear weapons, while responding to a question by the Associated Press about whether there was any circumstance where he would be prepared or willing to use nuclear weapons to defeat terrorism and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden:
“I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance involving civilians. Let me scratch that. There's been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That's not on the table.”*

If you are interested in a historical viewpoint, take a look at these documents on my Web site at http://h-bombbook.com under For Professors and Researchers/Document Archive/Oppenheimer: Oppenheimer’s Farewell Speech to Los Alamos, November 2, 1945; Atomic Weapons and American Policy, July 1953; and the No First Use Appeal of February 14, 1950.

What are your thoughts? What lessons should we have learned from Oppenheimer and history?

*Source: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/surveys/2008_pres_cand/cand_quotes_page.php) Read More......

New Web site fights secrecy and lies

Tom commented that “secrecy is the great theme of Oppenheimer’s life and of American history in our time.” (See comments under “Our Nuclear Past and Present.”)

Indeed, secrecy fueled the revocation hearings which destroyed Oppenheimer’s credibility and fanned the fears which gave birth to the early arms race. Those facts have been hidden from the American public for decades, by denying the public access to classified documents which would have revealed embarrassing truths.

Now, declassified documents and private papers of key players in the Oppenheimer hearings have been made available to the public for the first time on my newly launched Web site, http://h-bombbook.com/.

This Web site is based on my book, The Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Birth of the Modern Arms Race (Penguin: 2006). The Web site includes the private papers of participants and newly declassified U.S. government documents which show how critics of military policy and military secrecy were silenced at the height of the Cold War, allowing the arms race to proceed unchecked, creating dangers that still haunt us today.

Look at some of the study questions in the Study Guide section of the Web site. Look especially at the last question, “Describe the relationship between scientists and the Bush Administration today? What are some of the principal areas of disagreement?” How would you answer that question? Which of those disagreements date back to the birth of the arms race? Are there new areas of disagreement that didn’t exist in 1945? Explore the Web site before you answer.

Click on “comment” (on this blog site) under this post to join in the discussion. Read More......

Our Nuclear Past and Present

As we leave Super Tuesday behind and the presidential race narrows, candidates' positions on US nuclear policy are bound to receive closer scrutiny.

Prior candidates positions on nuclear policy have affected every presidential since the first atomic bomb burst in 1945. For that reason, it is important to remember the days when nuclear policy was first brought to national attention, by the very scientists who created nuclear weapons.

My book and my new Web site, The Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer, tell the inside story of events that led to Oppenheimer’s security revocation hearing. The hearing in April and May of 1954 was the culmination of a lengthy campaign by a cabal of hard-line air force officials, anti-Communist politicians, and rival scientists such as Edward Teller to discredit Oppenheimer and steer US weapons policy toward reliance on larger and more deadly nuclear weapons.

The hearing was a tragedy for everyone involved. But its key outcomes were the destruction of Oppenheimer and the marginalizing of scientists who had urged restraint in the expansion of nuclear armaments.

I’ve created a new Web site, to be released Friday, that will explore the case of Oppenheimer’s security revocation, how it relates to the arms race, and how research into this historic incident is being conducted today. The Web site will include newly released original documents to help scholars, teachers and students study this important historic incident, and connect it to what is happening with nuclear policy, government secrecy, and civil liberties today. As Santayana reminds us, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Stay tuned for more Web site information! Read More......

Government Secrecy

Hello all!

Priscilla here. Today’s topic is government secrecy.

In a secrets-driven nation that spent $43.5 billion on intelligence in 2007, and spent $9.5 billion creating and maintaining classified documents and determining who had the clearances to see them, the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a timely reminder of how secrecy can be easily wielded to violate the rights of individuals.

How many of you are familiar with the fact that during Robert Oppenheimer’s security revocation hearing in 1954, his lawyer was frequently barred from the hearing room because he didn’t have the proper “security clearance” to hear the testimony being given against Oppenheimer?

A real defense of Oppenheimer was impossible to mount under those conditions, just as a real defense is impossible to mount for the inmates of Guantanamo today. Robert Oppenheimer’s security revocation hearing was a prime example of how the constitutional rights of the individual are trampled by the “requirements” of government secrecy.

Or take the example of Dr. James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and a world leader on the growing dangers of global warming. He was directed to submit his lectures, papers, and postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists to the agency’s public affairs staff for prior review. The reason given was the “need for coordination.” Fortunately, Dr. Hansen, like Dr. Oppenheimer, refuses to be censored.

Read about Oppenheimer’s hearing in The Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and let me know how you think it relates to today’s governmental secrecy issues. Read More......