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PDF versionO'Brien's talk should re-energize church disarmament drive
Jul. 30, 2009
In a bold move to reenergize the U.S. Catholic church’s decades-old quest for a nuclear weapons free world, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent an unlikely messenger into the very heart of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex—Strategic Command’s (STRATCOM) Omaha headquarters.
The venue was the “2009 Deterrence Symposium” organized by STRATCOM Commander General Kevin Chilton. STRATCOM oversees the operational end of the U.S. nuclear deterrent—thousands of nuclear bombs on missiles, bombers and submarines, poised on hair trigger alert, and capable of bringing cataclysmic destruction anywhere on the planet. The messenger was Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, a Vietnam Veteran and formerly the Archbishop of the Military Services.
O’Brien’s unique familiarity and credibility with the military signals the seriousness the U.S. Catholic church is bringing to the complex and urgent matter of nuclear disarmament.
The speech entitled, Nuclear Weapons and Moral Questions: The Path to Zero, was the concluding keynote of the first day of the Symposium, a gathering of the key civilian and military leaders charged with developing and implementing U.S. policy on the use and future of U.S. nuclear weapons.
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Catholics in Alliance adds its voice of praise for O'Brien speech
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“I have been asked to offer more challenge than comfort,” stated O’Brien, opening his remarks by acknowledging that “this is not an easy role for me” as he reaffirmed his deep respect and support for the role of the military, as well as the complex and serious nature of questions regarding nuclear weapons policy. And challenge he did. “In Catholic teaching,” he said, “the task is not to make the world safer through the threat of nuclear weapons, but rather to make the world safer from nuclear weapons through mutual and verifiable nuclear disarmament…. Every nuclear weapons system and every nuclear weapons policy should be judged by the ultimate goal of protecting human life and dignity and the related goal of ridding the world of these weapons in mutually verifiable ways.”
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Under the Bush Administration, STRATCOM’s role was recast from anchoring the U.S. effort to deter a massive nuclear exchange with the former Soviet Union to operationalizing Global Strike, a greatly enhanced mission that many analysts have condemned as a dangerous blurring of the morally unique nature of nuclear weapons. In his testimony before Congress in March 2009, General Chilton admitted that “we have a prompt global strike delivery capability on alert today, but it is configured only with nuclear weapons…” The mission that this capability aims to support is clearly stated in the Department of Defense’s 2006 Deterrence Operations Joint Operating Concept:
“Nuclear weapons provide the President with the ultimate means to terminate conflict promptly on terms favorable to the U.S. They cast a lengthy shadow over rational adversaries’ decision calculus when considering coercion, aggression, WMD employment, and escalatory courses of action.” The Deterrence Operations Joint Operating Concept further states that “nuclear weapons allow the U.S. to rapidly accomplish the wholesale disruption of an adversary nation-state with limited U.S. national resources.”
These statements, and many others buried in the shadowy sectors of U.S. Defense planning, clearly indicate that the current roles of U.S. nuclear weapons have expanded well beyond the very limited role of deterring the use of nuclear weapons against the U.S. In an unpublished briefing paper prepared for the Vatican in 2007, Pax Christi USA warned that nuclear weapons had been “conventionalized,” obliterating the distinction between nuclear and non-nuclear weapons in complete contradiction of the Catholic church’s long-held position. Indeed, in September 2008 the Department of Defense’s Report on the Air Force’s Nuclear Mission stated clearly that “the nuclear deterrent is ‘used’ every day by assuring friends and allies, dissuading opponents from seeking peer capabilities to the United States, deterring attacks on the United States and its allies from potential adversaries, and providing the potential to defeat adversaries if deterrence fails.”
It was with this expanded vision of the role of nuclear weapons that the Bush Administration embarked on a $150 billion effort to modernize the entire nuclear weapons complex, upgrade every warhead and delivery system, and fully integrate nuclear weapons into the strategies and policies guiding U.S. war-fighting. To all of this, O’Brien offered a clear and compelling ‘No!’
“In Catholic moral teaching,” the archbishop said, “the only morally legitimate purpose of nuclear deterrence is to deter the use of nuclear weapons by others. This means that ‘not all forms of deterrence are morally acceptable.’ It is not morally acceptable to aim for nuclear superiority instead of sufficiency. It is not morally legitimate to develop new nuclear weapons for new missions such as to counter non-nuclear threats or to make them smaller and more ‘usable’ as ‘bunker busters.’ Why? Because these policies and actions lead us further away from the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. They lead us toward a world more likely to rely on nuclear weapons for security.”
The Vatican, in its statement at the 2005 Review Conference of the Nonproliferation Treaty was clear on this. “When the Holy See expressed its limited acceptance of nuclear deterrence during the Cold War, it was with the clearly stated condition that deterrence was only a step on the way towards progressive nuclear disarmament. The Holy See has never countenanced nuclear deterrence as a permanent measure, nor does it today when it is evident that nuclear deterrence drives the development of ever newer nuclear arms, thus preventing genuine nuclear disarmament.”
O’Brien’s speech puts a fine point on the church’s teaching and calls for concrete efforts now to substantially change U.S. nuclear weapons policy. In his Prague speech, President Obama committed the United States to leading the effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons starting with the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. O’Brien echoed this call: “For us in the United States, this means that public opinion makers, including religious leaders, should help build public dialogue and support for ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And leaders of both political parties should build a strong bipartisan consensus to support the Treaty as an important step on the road to zero.”
He called for a Fissile Materials Cut-Off Treaty to end the production of weapons grade material: “The United States should provide robust leadership for negotiations on this Treaty. A world moving to rid itself of nuclear weapons is a world that stops producing weapons-grade materials and secures those stockpiles that exist.”
And O’Brien went directly to the heart of U.S. policy and challenged the Obama Administration to actualize the vision presented in Prague:
“The Congressionally mandated Nuclear Posture Review provides an opportunity for the United States to move toward reducing its reliance on nuclear weapons. To build international confidence in our nation’s commitment to working for a world without nuclear weapons, our nation should renounce the first use of nuclear weapons, declare that they will not be used against non-nuclear threats, and confine our nation’s nuclear doctrine to deterring the use of nuclear weapons by others. These actions will strengthen the moral credibility of our nation as we seek to persuade other nations to forego development of weapons of mass destruction.”
As one who has worked for the elimination of nuclear weapons for more than 20 years, I view the archbishop’s address to STRATCOM as a vital contribution to the current debate over the future of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and the unfolding efforts by the new administration in Washington to realize the vision laid out in Prague by President Obama. The task is as urgent as it is complex. But as the archbishop stated last night: “Religious leaders, prominent officials, and other people of goodwill who support a nuclear-weapons-free world are not naïve about the task ahead. They know the path will be difficult and will require determined political leadership, strong public support, and the dedicated skills of many capable leaders and technical experts. But difficult is not impossible.”
Dave Robinson Executive Director Pax Christi USA
Shame on David Robinson and
Shame on David Robinson and Pax Christi USA for their response to Bp O'Brien's talk at the “2009 Deterrence Symposium” organized by STRATCOM Commander General Kevin Chilton. You are so locked into a Cold War mentality, like so many other peace movement people. You still think that "STRATCOM oversees the operational end of the U.S. nuclear deterrent—thousands of nuclear bombs on missiles, bombers and submarines, poised on hair trigger alert, and capable of bringing cataclysmic destruction anywhere on the planet." WRONG!
As Tim Rinne, Dir of Nebraskans For Peace so well put in his 2007 article "StratCom in Nebraska: The Most Dangerous Place on the Face of the Earth"
http://www.nebraskansforpeace.org/nepeace/stratcom/0607_stratcomresist.php
(Read it!) STRATCom is all about the domination of space! As soon as the USA has a complete lock on the militarization of space, the USA Empire will no longer need nukes to dominate and rule the earth. And as soon as this happens, you will see the US Military become the most anti-nuke organization in the world! They will get on the Bishop's anti nuke band wagon and hunt down all who dare maintain any nuclear weapons. And the world will not be any safer David from PAX USA.
You got to get updated David!
Bp O'Brien's said nothing new in his talk in Omaha. It’s the same good words that our Church has been mouthing for decades. The Church has plenty of great statements about nuclear weapons and war. What we got to remember is to make a statement does not fulfill an obligation but announces one... The real issue facing the Catholic Church regarding nuclear weapons and modern warfare is what is the Church willing to risk to fulfill the obligations attached to their wonderful words on war and peace?
Frank Cordaro
Phil Berrigan CW House
713 Indiana Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50314
(515) 282-4781 www.DesMoinesCatholicWorker.org
I took the time to call the
I took the time to call the Phil Berrigan CW House to leave Mr Cordaro a message telling him thank you so much that there are people in the know that can explain the Catholic church's stand on nuclear weapons, war, imperialism and everything else. I don't have this knowledge unless I hear it from someone who does and who I feel I can trust.
This is so important. All these endless statements that parrot each other and mean nothing. The bishops will probably not pay attention to this, shame on them, but what can you expect. Please, God, make us hear these prophets and take their message to heart and to the street.
Re: Frank Cordaro's
Re: Frank Cordaro's comments.
I agree with the comments on Stratcom and the significance of the danger there. That once again shows us that the peace process is a never-ending effort. The challenges are certain to keep ratcheting up as technology changes, and we all need to keep working on the efforts to have a peaceful world.
However, Frank, you are a bit out of line here. We need to work together to be successful, not try to divide ourselves. You sound like you are as concerned as anyone about the prospects for warfare. Support the efforts that are being made! Add to the information. There are a lot of challenges out there, and there are certain to be more in the near future. It is going to be a lot of work, no doubt.
Let's work together for a peaceful future.
Mr. Rebman, Mr. Cordaro,
Mr. Rebman, Mr. Cordaro, thank you. For those of us that know something is wrong but can't see through all the mist men like you make me feel someone is watching all this.
I am amazed and pleased that
I am amazed and pleased that a prominent Catholic Archbishop and a person respected by the military has spoken loudly, clearly, and wisely about an issue other than abortion.
O'Brien's address is a call for a major public discussion of the role of nuclear weapons in the 21st century military defense. I commend him for his courage and clarity.
And David Robinson, please get down from the pulpit and discuss this issue with your colleagues
Br. Jimbo
Hmmmm.... "As soon as the USA
Hmmmm....
"As soon as the USA has a complete lock on the militarization of space, the USA Empire will no longer need nukes to dominate and rule the earth. And as soon as this happens, you will see the US Military become the most anti-nuke organization in the world!"
So, then, as soon as the US military has a complete lock on, not only the earth, but also the space environment around the earth, then and only then will the US Military/Industrial Complex become peace loving to the point of destroying all nuclear weapons.
Of course this is so, because the US military will be able to bomb weddings from the stratosphere, instead of utilizing mere man-made drone air fighters.
Either this is the most savage irony(which I truly hope is so), or the most naive "good-golly-gosh" true-blue flag waving American patriotism. Because we all know that God loves America first and best, right?
"What we got to remember is to make a statement does not fulfill an obligation but announces one..."
The Vatican is great with words. And words are indeed a form of action. But they are actions which must subsist in a continuum with other more concrete actions. I await what must follow from such powerful and truthful words. Does anyone remember "The Shoes of the Fisherman?" I ask this seriously. What will the Vatican sacrifice in order to achieve a genuine change in the status quo of power on this planet?
let us pray today for the
let us pray today for the Reverend Father John Dear who this moment prepares for for Mass at Santa Maria de la Paz in Santa Fe for this weekend's action in Los Alamos, with two Nobel Peace prize winners donning sack-cloth and ashes and praying for an end to war.
I only wish I could be there too, but obligations kept me here while my heart and soul walks with them.
I hope the Rev. Fr. John Dear writes a full report upon these pages . . .
"And O’Brien went directly to
"And O’Brien went directly to the heart of U.S. policy and challenged the Obama Administration to actualize the vision presented in Prague:"
I just love how all these "peace-mongers" are now deciding to hold Pres. Obama's feet to the fire on any number of issues, but not a peep was heard from them during the 8 years of Pres. Bush leadership.
Many US bishops have ignored
Many US bishops have ignored the nuclear issue for too long and replaced it with abortion as an absolute. That issue will not matter if the world becomes engulfed in nuclear war.
I count both Dave Robinson
I count both Dave Robinson and Frank Cordaro as friends, so I was dismayed at the tone Frank’s reaction to Dave Robinson. Yet he did make some important points that need to be taken into account in a serious way in attending to the opportunity afforded by Archbishop O’Brien’s presentation at STRATCOM.
First, the reach for weapons in space by the US military cannot be overlooked. There real and significant gains being made in this capability by the Pentagon and they will proved the US military with a monopoly on space warfare that will be long-lasting and be more advantageous than nuclear weapons. It is a capability far less likely to be vulnerable to proliferation as nuclear weaponry is currently and will not have the liabilities that nukes have, either technologically (radiation poisoning) or in public perception. It will have a great deal of utility in choosing and changing targets and in efficient kill capacity with more control over collateral damage. It will be more advantageous than nuclear weaponry in maintaining and advancing US dominion in the world, which is its chief and intended “virtue.” It will, by these “advantages”, sustain and extend into the future the vulgar immorality we have lived with in the nuclear era.
Second, Frank makes an important point about the flip-side of ecclesiastical statements; they are often good words, but only good words. The challenge of making them mean something has always been ours. The initiative and the pressure for action at the official level of the church or the government must come from an irresistible groundswell that we generate through our advocacy and activism. Discussion of nuclear policy and capabilities has been virtually invisible in the public realm for too many years of late. Social justice movement has been giving its attention to other matters – the broad array of alarming conduct that has come from the recently departed administration, not least of which is the bloody warfare still enduring in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are not issues lacking in urgency, but issues which nevertheless have permitted nuclearism to go underground. Pax Christi, among other organizations, can and must play a pivotal role in restoring this concern to the prominence it deserves and in educating its members to the complex details of nuclear weaponry- technologically, strategically and politically -, and stirring them to demand of the church and of the government that they reject them outright.
We are ultimately a people of faith and our God expects of us not simply a non-nuclear world, but a disarmed world where all can live “in peace and unafraid.” Our task is to reject war and all its lies and all its empty promises so as to live in the fullness of Christ.
I am amazed at some of the
I am amazed at some of the comments I just read. The Catholic Church has always for the defense of their country. Here in the United States, the Bishops have always supported our men and women in the Military and supported the Military Establishment. I believe the Catholic Church's position is that our Military exists for the defense of our country. I don't think the Church ever approved of WMD to be used for anything other then defense of our country. During the last eight years, our Country invaded another country for the first time in the history of the United States. Whatever the reason, I think we should all take a step back and ask why? There are many "Talking Heads" in the media that will try and sell their side and position on this attack but I think most Americans are smart enough to be able to decide the reason we attacked another country. If we had nucular weapons in special delivery systems that could be used on the battlefield, much of that country may not exist. I am an old man and I believe old men and women make decisions to go to war but our very young have to fight, die and be mamed for life. I was in the U S Army and worked for a company who built the latest state of the are jet aircraft and I always believed what I was doing was to defend this great country. I agree with Archbishop O'Brien and I hope all who have commented take a step back and think about what happens in a nuclar war. We should have these weapon as a deterrant. We are capable of building almost any weapons system but I think most Americans want a life free from war and enjoy the peace we can achieve. That dosen't mean we stick our heads in the sand. We should always be fully capable to defend this country and to help win peace whenever we are needed.
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