PA New York


"Those who love peace must learn to organize
as effectively as those who love war."
- Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.



• Bush Quits Key Arms Treaty - Release
• Stop Star Wars - Action
• Star Wars Fact Sheet
• CIA Says Missile Less Likely


Other Issues
Get Involved
About Us
Join Us
Contact Peace Action
Chapters Home

Star Wars Press Release

When President Bush announced that the United States was withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty to pursue his Star Wars scheme, Peace Action's national office had this response.

"Radical Unilateralists" in Administration lambasted on ABM withdrawal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2001

Scott Lynch, Communications Director

WASHINGTON, DC: Peace Action, the nation's largest peace and disarmament organization, today lambasted the Bush Administration's plan to unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in order to pursue its dream of a Star Wars anti-missile weapon system. The announcement to withdraw from the ABM treaty, according to media reports, could come in a matter of days. As provided by the treaty, the U.S. withdrawal from the treaty would become effective in six months after the announcement.


"U.S. and world security is much better served by getting serious about nuclear non-proliferation and the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons"

"What missile defense?" asked Peace Action executive director Kevin Martin "It's pathetic that after having spent $100 billion on anti-missile weapons since Reagan, that all we have is a missile system that can sometimes hit a target that has a beacon that guides the interceptor to it. The Bush administration is ready to destroy an arms reduction framework that has been successfully reducing nuclear weapons for thirty years and replace it with, essentially, nothing."

"The Bush Administration exhibits a theological belief in the utterly irrelevant (as we saw Sept. 11) 'missile defense' system. U.S. and world security is much better served by getting serious about nuclear non-proliferation and the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons" continued Martin."The radical unilateralists in the Bush Administration have triumphed. The Wolfowitz, Bolton and Pearle sphere think U.S. military, political and economic power is so great that we don't need to be a good global citizen-that we can and should strut about the world like a schoolyard bully. Obviously, they think the rule of law should only apply to the weak."

"However, in seeking unilateral solutions at the expense of international cooperation, they ensure that instability, insecurity and, ultimately, terrorism will be with us for a long time to come. They are laying the groundwork today for the next massive, asymmetrical attack on the United States. The big winners in this announcement are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, TRW and Raytheon, who will continue to reap immense profits from Star Wars contracts whether the system ever works or not. The big losers are the American people and American security," said Martin.

"It is now time for congressional leadership to right the course of our foreign policy that has been high-jacked by the radical unilateralists in the Administration. We've got six months to mobilize public support to preserve the ABM treaty and avert a nuclear arms race," said Scott Lynch, Peace Action's Communications Director. "The Administration has now ensured that Star Wars and the ABM treaty will be big issues in next year's election campaigns. The choice for candidates is simple: do you want nuclear arms control or nuclear anarchy?"


Peace Action, founded in 1957 as SANE (Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy), has 85,000 members nationwide.


Peace Action of New York State
475 Riverside Drive
New York, New York 10115
212.870.2304