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Fukushima Daiichi: It May Be too Late Unless the Military Steps in

by Akio Matsumura

This article is available in Japanese and German.

The highly radioactive spent fuel assemblies at the Fukushima-Daiichi power plants present a clear threat to the people of Japan and the world. Reactor 4 and the nearby common spent fuel pool contain over 11,000 highly radioactive spent fuel assemblies, many of which are exposed to the open air. The cesium-137, the radioactive component contained in these assemblies, present at the site is 85 times larger than the amount released during the Chernobyl accident. Another magnitude 7.0 earthquake would jar them from their pool or stop the cooling water, which would lead to a nuclear fire and meltdown. The nuclear disaster that would result is beyond anything science has ever seen.  Calling it a global catastrophe is no exaggeration.

If political leaders understand the situation and the potential catastrophe, I find it difficult to understand why they remain silent.

The following leaves little to question:

  1. Many scientists believe that it will be impossible to remove the 1,535 fuel assemblies in the pool of Reactor 4 within two or three years.
  2. Japanese scientists give a greater than 90 percent  probability that an earthquake of at least 7.0 magnitude will occur in the next three years in the close vicinity of Fukushia-Daiichi.
  3. The crippled building of Reactor 4 will not stand through another strong earthquake.
  4. Japan and the TEPCO do not have adequate nuclear technology and experience to handle a disaster of such proportions alone.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote a letter to Japan’s Ambassador to the United States, Mr.… Continue reading

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Fading Memories and Lessons Learned

By Dr. Scott Jones

In a series appropriately named Lessons Learned, the U.S. military takes pride in documenting what it has learned from battles and campaigns. The assumption being that this record will guide strategies and tactics in future wars. The irony is not lost to the professional warrior that the major lesson to be learned from every war is that the next war starts with failure: peace has been lost.

A host of lessons were learned during my thirty years of military service.  While many memories have faded, some never will.  One in particular has specific relevance to the core purpose of this article.  In October 1952, on my second Korean War tour as a jet fighter pilot flying off a U.S. aircraft carrier, I was flying a low-level armed reconnaissance mission over North Korea.  U.S. forces controlled the air, and North Korean and Chinese forces rarely tried to move troops and supplies during the day.  Expectations were therefore low to see any movement of a military nature.  The assigned road for this mission made a zigzag climb out of the valley onto a plain leading to the Chinese border.  This was the end of my route and time to climb to a higher altitude for a direct return to the carrier task group.  However, as I climbed out of the valley I saw an oxcart on the road being escorted by soldiers.  The disciplined soldiers in their winter-white uniforms dove for protection into the deep ditches on either side of the road. … Continue reading

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Admiral Noel Gayler’s Call for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

Bill Wickersham
Adjunct Professor of Peace Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia

C.B. Scott Jones
President, Peace & Emergency Action Coalition for Earth (P.E.A.C.E., Inc.)

 

Admiral Noel Gayler, a World War II Navy pilot who served as the sixth director of the National Security Agency, and as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command in the 1970s, died on July 14, 2011 at the age of 96. He was one of several retired, high-ranking U.S. military officers who have called for the abolition of nuclear weapons from Planet Earth.

In December, 2000, Gayler published “A Proposal for Achieving Zero Nuclear Weapons” .  In that article, he said: “The argument for a nuclear component is no longer valid. The time is now for a concrete proposal that meets the problem. Process, as opposed to negotiating numbers, is the basic principle of the proposal that I suggest. It is nothing less than drastic: the continuing reduction to zero of weapons in the hands of avowed nuclear powers, plus an end to the nuclear ambitions of others.”

Recently, in response to Admiral Gayler’s passing, Dr. David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, outlined some of the common illusions surrounding the purported value of nuclear weapons which were included in Gayler’s proposal.  Those illusions include the following misconceptions:

  • Physical defense against nuclear weapons is possible;
  • Nuclear weapons can be used in a sensible manner;
  • Nuclear disarmament imperils our security; and
  • Nuclear deterrence is an effective defense.

Additionally, Krieger noted that  “Admiral Gayler’s proposal involves the delivery of all nuclear weapons to a central point where they would be irreversibly dismantled.”… Continue reading

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A Dearth of Vision: The Need for a New American Road

By Akio Matsumura

America’s leadership—in Washington and in each state—is gridlocked.  And instead of politicians and economists coming to the rescue, they are the ones causing the traffic jam.  Myopic leadership coupled with recycled policies are clogging the road forward.  Governor Jerry Brown’s victory in California encouraged me greatly.  His bold ideas will help California to close its yawning fiscal and social gaps, but we need individual leadership and creative vision across the board.  Some years ago I missed an opportunity to bring together some of the country’s most visionary minds to discuss our common future. Such a meeting, if held now, would help to energize America enormously.

A Timeless Visionary
In 1984, I went to Los Angeles to meet with former Governor Jerry Brown, who had just finished his two-term governorship of California.  Governor Brown came to my hotel and we sat in the lobby to discuss and share our perspectives for the world for the coming century.  Because I worked at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), I shared my concern for the increasing imbalance between the growing population—then projected to hit 7 billion by the year 2000 and 10 billion later in the century—and the availability and distribution of natural resources.  How would we deal with food, water, and natural resource shortages?  Governor Brown suggested we might send people to the Moon and avoid all of these problems.  Clearly we were discussing big ideas. We went on and on for hours.

Suddenly, Governor Brown stopped and asked, “Akio, what time is it?” … Continue reading

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The Death and Rebirth of U.S. Ground Forces

Dear friends:
I have been so fortunate to have the advice, opinions and wisdom of extraordinary men available to me throughout my life.  The three with whom I sought counsel the most were former US Ambassador to the UN, Reverend Dr. Glenn Olds; Ambassador Angier Biddle Duke (D); and Mr. Bradford Morse, former administrator of the UNDP and US Congressman (R). Ambassador Olds served as the White House international adviser for four U.S. presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr.

Fifteen years ago, Ambassador Olds introduced me to Dr. Scott Jones and advised me that Dr. Jones would be able to provide me with top-notch analysis of U.S. policy.  As sadly all three of my initial mentors have gone to another spiritual world, I am lucky to have Dr. Jones’s advice and fair, non-partisan insight on U.S. policy.

In a thirty-year career in the U.S. Navy, Scott Jones was a carrier jet fighter pilot in the Korean War, and later served in Naval Intelligence in South Asia, Europe, and Washington, D.C    For six-years he was special assistant to my dear friend Senator Claiborne Pell.
It is my great pleasure to introduce his article.
Yours truly,

Akio

 

 

The Death and Rebirth of U.S. Ground Forces

A burden too heavy has been placed on the shoulders of U.S. ground forces in the nation’s longest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  No level of respect and verbal support for the young men and women in service of their country can mitigate the mental and physical consequences of repeated combat tours. … Continue reading

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New Strategies in US Foreign Policy: Building Perception instead of Animosity

by Akio Matsumura

We are out of money.  The 2008 world economic crisis and economic recession have forced many governments to cut back in spending. The media reports daily on which programs will be kept or cut, and lobbyists are working hard to make sure their piece of the pie is not tossed out. In Europe, Greece’s austerity measures—while staving off disaster—have caused riots. In many countries, national security budgets, despite ballooning to epic portions, will be the last to go, though surprisingly, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates last week announced that the Pentagon will slash spending in the years ahead.

The defense budget will remain high because of a national paranoia (perhaps rightly) of foreign attack, influential business interests, and the all-important fact that the US is still fighting two wars.  And their position on both fronts looks increasingly untenable:  the effects of the “surge” in Iraq–General Petraeus’ miracle work–is now reportedly dissolving; Western efforts in Afghanistan are producing fewer results than hoped for.  Just this week the New York Times published an editorial, “The State of the War in Afghanistan.” Their survey is disheartening:

But, like many Americans, we are increasingly confused and anxious about the strategy in Afghanistan and wonder whether, at this late date, there is a chance of even minimal success.  

Military efforts are continually stifled or delayed.  What is the Commander in Chief’s next step?  Approval is waning (although a majority of Americans still support the war).  Military operations–even if professed to diminish in the coming years–will continue on at least for the greater part of the decade. … Continue reading