Please see CFPA's Action Alert sent on June 14, 2024.
Dear Friend,
This Sunday, June 16 is the first anniversary of Daniel Ellsberg's death. Dan was a CFPA Sponsor, and spoke for us a number of times--including as we were being formed. We remain deeply grateful for his outstanding leadership.
One of his final requests to we who support the global abolition of nuclear weapons was to have a special focus on eliminating Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) which can carry nuclear warheads a quarter of the way around the world in 30 minutes and cause the deaths of billions of people.
In conjunction with this anniversary, a free new 37 minute film A Common Insanity with Dan presenting on this issue has just been released. It explains why it's important to urgently focus on this as a priority in our organizing for global nuclear weapons abolition.
I found this presentation very persuasive and compelling. Another of our Sponsors, physicist and nuclear weapon expert Frank von Hippel, has been giving outstanding presentations on this critically important issue in CFPA's lobby visits with Congressmembers, and at Candidate Briefings--including six Briefings so far in 2024!
ICBMs are the most dangerous type of nuclear weapon because they are most likely to provoke the start of a nuclear war. See my short summary below, which has been reviewed by several of our nuclear weapon experts. I also highly recommend this article entitled America's Nuclear Missiles Make Its Citizens Less Safe.
1) The 400 US ICBMs deployed in several Mountain States could in theory be targeted by an adversary in a pre-emptive attack on the US. The U.S. Nuclear Command has responded by putting US ICBMs into a highly dangerous accident-prone "use them or lose them" launch on warning posture.
2) As a result, these are on hair trigger alert, ready to be launched in just a few minutes before they can be destroyed in their silos. This means a US President would have less than ten minutes to decide whether to launch US ICBMs. In the case of the numerous false alarms we've already had, we have come very close to starting a nuclear war by accident!
3) Many top experts on nuclear weapons, including Ellsberg, former Secretary of Defense Bill Perry, and former Commander of US Nuclear Forces Gen. Lee Butler, have said it is "mostly luck" that nuclear weapons haven't been used in war again since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Eliminating ICBMs would not only make the US and the world much safer from the real and growing danger of nuclear war, but would also save the over $300 billion estimated cost of deploying new ICBMs.
We have been raising this alarming situation with our Congressmembers for some time, and want to increase our pressure. We need your active support to help maximize our impact, as we collaborate with Back from the Brink, the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction, National Peace Action, and others on this critical effort.
I would like to start up a designated fund we can draw on to rapidly intensify our efforts to abolish ICBMs--especially in this critical 2024 Election Year. Click here or below and put "Ban ICBMs Campaign" in the notation section to contribute.
P.S. Please reply to this email if you want to volunteer your time and/or talent to help intensify this campaign.
Also, I encourage you to attend CFPA's monthly Advocacy Committee meeting on Zoom at 5 PM this Thursday, June 20, at which the Ban ICBMs Campaign will be an agenda item.
Sincerely,
The Rev. Robert Moore
Executive Director
Coalition for Peace Action &
Peace Action Education Fund
7 Vandeventer Ave.
Princeton, NJ 08542
Please see CFPA's Action Alert sent on April 1, 2024.
Dear Friend,
I'm writing to urge you to contact your Representative and Senators to advocate for strong U.S. leadership to reduce the nuclear war danger by becoming a co-sponsor of a resolution recently introduced in the US House (H. Res. 1079) and Senate (S. Res. 593). Click here or below to quickly email your Congresspersons to urge their support for this critically important resolution. It only takes two minutes!
UN Secretary-General Guterres recently issued a stark warning: "The nuclear shadow that loomed over humanity last century has returned with a vengeance. The nuclear risk is higher than at any point since the depths of the Cold War."
Putin's war on Ukraine and his nuclear saber rattling have significantly increased the risk of nuclear war. A March 9 New York Times story revealed that in October 2022--almost exactly 60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war--the chance of Putin using his nuclear weapons was estimated by top US officials to be "50% or higher."
The last remaining treaty capping the massive Russian and U.S. nuclear stockpiles is due to expire in less than two years. Meanwhile, as China is rapidly building up its smaller but still deadly nuclear arsenal, some members of Congress are pushing to increase the U.S. nuclear arsenal to counter two "near-peer" nuclear adversaries.
This resolution calls on the Biden administration to urgently pursue nuclear arms control and risk reduction dialogue with the Russian Federation to ensure the conflict in Ukraine does not escalate to nuclear use, and avoid an unrestrained nuclear arms race. Click here to see more details.
Please click here or below to quickly email your US Representative and Senators NOW and remind them that a world without effective nuclear reduction diplomacy is a more dangerous world; and urge them to act. To increase your impact, also call your Representative and US Senators via the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121! The offices don't crosscheck constituents who both email and call.
P.S. Just a reminder that CFPA's 2024 Membership Renewal Gathering will be this Sunday afternoon, April 7, starting with a free lunch at 2 PM for those who have contributed their 2024 annual membership; and the Program featuring Amb. Daniel Kurtzer at 3 PM in Princeton. Click here for details, and RSVP to this email--especially for the lunch.
Sincerely,
The Rev. Robert Moore
Executive Director
Coalition for Peace Action &
Peace Action Education Fund
7 Vandeventer Ave.
Princeton, NJ 08542
Please see CFPA's Action Alert sent on March 13, 2024.
Dear friend,
Last month UN Secretary-General Guterres issued a stark warning: "The nuclear shadow that loomed over humanity last century has returned with a vengeance. The nuclear risk is higher than at any point since the depths of the Cold War."
Putin's war on Ukraine and his nuclear saber rattling have significantly increased the risk of nuclear war. A March 9 New York Times story revealed that in October 2022--almost exactly 60 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war--Putin's threat to use his nuclear weapons was estimated by top US officials to be "50% or higher."
The last remaining treaty capping the massive Russian and U.S. nuclear stockpiles is due to expire in less than two years. Meanwhile, as China is building up its smaller but still deadly nuclear force, some members of Congress and national security insiders are pushing to increase the size and diversity of the U.S. arsenal to counter two "near-peer" nuclear adversaries.
Unless Washington and Moscow agree to maintain the current ceiling of 1,550 deployed strategic warheads set by the New START agreement past 2026, a costly, dangerous three-way nuclear arms race looms on the horizon.
Last weekend, in response to these and other nuclear dangers, the New York Times launched a special series of must-read editorials about the nuclear danger and why the world is now “At the Brink.” In the introduction to the series, the paper’s opinion editor says: It's Time to Protest Nuclear War Again.
For over 43 years, CFPA has been working exactly toward that end. With our sister groups across the country, we have mobilzed to achieve an 82% reduction in nuclear warheads globally! Click to see a short overview of CFPA's organizing toward that major progress!
But starting with George W. Bush's 2001 withdrawal from the foundational ABM Treaty, all but one of the Treaties that achieved those reductions has been undone. Only the New START Agreement remains in place, and that last remaining Treaty is set to expire in 2026.
Soon, a new Congressional Resolution is expected to be introduced that condemns Russia's dangerous nuclear threats, and calls for sustained efforts to engage Russia and China on nuclear arms control. We need your help to support that.
Even more important, it's urgent that we succeed in preventing the planned $2 trillion build-up of US nuclear weapons--deceptively called "nuclear modernization"--over the next 30 years!
To meet the above challenges and build on our extensive successes, I urgently request that you click the button below to contribute ONLINE NOW!
We can only meet the daunting challenges ahead if we each do our part, starting with contributing NOW as generously as possible. Make your commitment to intensify CFPA’s nuclear disarmament work in this critical Election Year ONLINE TODAY!
P.S. Click to view CFPA's Spring newsletter, and plan to attend the upcoming events included.
Sincerely,
The Rev. Robert Moore
Executive Director
Coalition for Peace Action &
Peace Action Education Fund
7 Vandeventer Ave.
Princeton, NJ 08542
Please see CFPA's most recent Action Alert sent on March 4, 2024.
Dear Friend,
I'm excited to inform you that momentum is building for CFPA’s high impact peacemaking in this critical election year!
After conducting our first Candidate Briefing for candidates in targeted races in our region (click preceding link to see photo and short summary), we are now in the process of scheduling six more!
Recently, CFPA collaborated with partners to lobby Congresspersons in the suburbs of Philadelphia (a key electoral swing area) to support a Ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War. As of last Friday, five of the six members have publicly announced their support!
After Putin's nuclear saber rattling in his recent speech to the Russian people, I just had this letter to the editor advocating for nuclear restraint, and ultimately global abolition, published in today's (March 4) edition of the Trenton Times. It has also been submitted to other newspapers in the region
We just postal mailed membership renewal notices to CFPA members who hadn't yet renewed for 2024. If you are among those who receive the letter, I urge you to click here or below to save time and the $1.50 cost of using the business reply mail envelope to postal mail your annual membership.
If you aren't yet a CFPA member, this would be a great time to help sustain CFPA's increasing momentum in our high impact election year peacemaking.
If you are already a member, you can also click here or below for an option to make a donation in addition to your membership! Please renew or join by clicking to contribute your 2024 Membership or Donation ONLINE NOW!
Another sign of increased momentum with our Ceasefire NJ Project is that CFPA just partnered on a meeting with a key legislative leader urging him to co-sponsor a bill to mandate safe storage of guns in the home, to prevent suicides and accidental shootings.
Starting nearly 30 years ago, CFPA pioneered a highly effective Peace Voter (PV) campaign with proven results to maximize our peacemaking impact on elections.
In addition to the Candidate Briefings by CFPA experts and organizational leaders mentioned above, we plan to follow up with Candidate Questionnaires and other research on their positions. Then we will culminate the PV campaign by publishing Peace Voter Guides in targeted races.
To meet the above challenges and take full advantage of our proven approaches in 2024, I urgently request that you click the button below to contribute your 2024 Annual Membership or Donation ONLINE NOW!
We can only build on our momentum and meet the great challenges in this 2024 election year if we each do our part, starting with contributing NOW as generously as possible.
Make your annual commitment to intensify CFPA’s peacemaking in this critical Election Year ONLINE TODAY!
Sincerely,
The Rev. Robert Moore
Executive Director
Coalition for Peace Action &
Peace Action Education Fund
40 Witherspoon Street
Princeton, NJ 08542
Currently, the decision to use nuclear weapons is in the hands of just one person. Unless Congress acts, the President could single-handedly start a nuclear war within minutes. Having that decision fall on only one person, with no checks or balances, is contrary to our Constitution and increases the probability that nuclear weapons will be used.
Reintroduced by Rep. Ted Lieu and Sen. Edward Markey, the "Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act" creates a safeguard by requiring authorization from Congress before nuclear weapons can be deployed, except if the United States is under nuclear attack.
Tell your Legislators: Reduce the chance of first use of US nuclear weapons, due to miscalculation or misunderstanding, by co-sponsoring, and voting in support of, H.R.669 / S.1186: the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act! Click here NOW to quickly email your two US Senators and your US Representative; it only takes a minute!
If you have time, you can increase your impact by also calling your Senators and US Representative! Call 1-202-224-3121 and ask to speak to the offices of your US Representative and Senators. When you get through, say:
“I am calling as a constituent concerned about the danger of US nuclear weapons being used first due to miscalculation or misunderstanding. To reduce that threat, we need a requirement for Congress to specifically authorize the use of nuclear weapons before they can be used, except if the United States is under nuclear attack. I urge Sen./Rep. ______ to co-sponsor the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act, H.R.669 / S.1186. Please let me know what action they take on this important measure to reduce the chance of accidental nuclear war."
P.S. Click here to see a recap of CFPA's Annual Hiroshima and Nagasaki Commemoration from August 8th which includes a link to view a video recording of the program. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Stewart Prager, highlighted the danger of continuing to let just one person make the decision to use nuclear weapons.
Sincerely,
The Rev. Robert Moore
Executive Director
Coalition for Peace Action &
Peace Action Education Fund
40 Witherspoon Street
Princeton, NJ 08542
The Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) is a grassroots citizens' organization bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds, professions and political persuasions around three goals: global abolition of nuclear weapons, a peace economy and a halt to weapons trafficking at home and abroad.
7 Vandeventer Ave., Princeton, NJ 08542
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