U.S. Continues Nuclear Tests; Draws Condemnation From Iran ... and Bombed Japanese Cities

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
December 12, 2012

"War Mind"
Anthony Freda Art

With little fanfare amongst the American corporate media, the United States has now conducted yet another nuclear test in the deserts of Nevada. The move was condemned by both Iran and two Japanese mayors, who stated that not only was the American test emblematic of the double standard held by America and the international community, but that it also endangered the progression to a nuclear-free world.

As reported by RT, it was announced by the National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday, Dec. 7 that the Nevada National Security Site “had successfully detonated plutonium in a deep shaft on Wednesday (Dec. 5) to test the safety and effectiveness of US nuclear weapons.”

The Pollux subcritical experiment involved “a tiny sample” of plutonium bomb material and was carried out by scientists at the Los Alamos, New Mexico national laboratory and the Sandia National Laboratories.

Subcritical nuclear experiments have been conducted inside the United States since 1997 under the justification of helping “scientists understand how plutonium ages in the stockpile.” The December 5 experiment, however, marks the twenty-seventh “subcritical experiment” conducted since 1992, when full-scale nuclear weapons tests were supposedly stopped.

It has been the fourth such test under the administration of Barack Obama. The term “subcritical,” it should be pointed out, refers to using “chemical explosives to blow up bits of nuclear materials designed to stop just short of erupting into a nuclear chain reaction, also known as criticality.”

In response to the test, two Japanese Mayors, Kazumi Matsui of Hiroshima and Tomihisa Taue of Nagasaki, separately sent letters of protest to President Barack Obama.



Both cities, of course, are the only to have ever been bombed using full-scale atomic or nuclear means. Thus, bomb survivors in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki also denounced the test, with notable statements of protest coming from Koichi Kawano who is at the head of the Nagaski Peace Action Center.

For some, like author and political scientist Kaveh Afrasiabi, more dubious reasons for the test are suspected. In an interview with PressTV of Iran, Afrasiabi stated, “This could be a cover for computer simulations for advancing nuclear warheads. We don’t know that because the US program is shrouded in high secrecy.”

In response to America’s recent announcements that it is not rebuilding any new warheads, Afrasiabi commented, “There is a huge gap between the rhetoric and the actual policies when it comes to the US’ nuclear weapons policies.”

Not without some sense of irony, Iran itself has also lent its voice to those few individuals daring to criticize the hypocritical United States nuclear policy.

Indeed, the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the US nuclear tests is proof that US foreign policy is heavily reliant upon the use of nuclear weapons and that it disregards UN calls for global disarmament.

Without commenting on the illegitimacy of the United Nations, the fact is that both the UN and the U.S., as well as the rest of the Western world have joined together to form a chorus of irrational catcalls of fear-based claims that Iran either possesses nuclear weapons or is actively seeking to obtain them, even while the United States conducts its own nuclear weapons tests at home.

Not only that but, while the U.S. takes every opportunity to remind the world whenever Iran refuses to allow potentially hostile UN “observers” into sensitive nuclear facilities, the U.S. itself hides its own nuclear tests (complete with detonations) under a shroud of secrecy.

Thus, the Pollux test detonated on December 5 did not allow international inspectors to witness the test as it was conducted. Indeed, the U.S. has denied these inspectors access to its test site since as far back as the late 1990s.

Regardless of the blatantly hypocritical behavior of the United States in regards to nuclear policy as well as its position on the nuclear capabilities of truly rogue “states” in the Middle East, the world should not expect righteous indignation regarding American nuclear detonations.

If anyone is waiting on the international community to issue a unified condemnation of U.S. nuclear weapons testing, it would be wise not to hold your breath.

Read other articles by Brandon Turbeville here.

Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Florence, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor's Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of three books, Codex Alimentarius -- The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, and Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident. Turbeville has published over 175 articles dealing on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville's podcast Truth on The Tracks can be found every Monday night 9 pm EST at UCYTV.  He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com.