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Encyclopedia > Council for a Livable World
LG-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The lines shown are the re-entry vehicles. One Peacekeeper can hold up to ten nuclear warheads each carrying the explosive power of twenty-five Hiroshima-sized weapons.
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LG-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The lines shown are the re-entry vehicles. One Peacekeeper can hold up to ten nuclear warheads each carrying the explosive power of twenty-five Hiroshima-sized weapons.

The Council for a Livable World is a United States arms control organization. Its aims are to: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3000x2272, 761 KB) LG-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3000x2272, 761 KB) LG-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ... Test launch of a Peacekeeper ICBM by the 576 Flight Test Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, CA (USAF) The LG-118A Peacekeeper was a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. ... Infantry inspect a hole in the devasted Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), 2,100 nautical miles (3900 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, at 8. ... The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (11 mi, 60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter. ... Arms control is a broad term alluding to a range of political concepts and aims. ...

The Council is also a political lobby which endorses political candidates. Council supporters provide more funds to opponents of the arms race than any other arms control organization in America -- $1.6 million on 2003-4. Weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a term used to describe a munition with the capacity to indiscriminately kill large numbers of human beings. ... A payload launch vehicle carrying a prototype exoatmospheric kill vehicle is launched from Meck Island at the Kwajalein Missile Range on Dec. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... A regular pentagon A pentagram enclosed in a pentagon In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. ...

Contents

History

The Council for a Livable World was founded in 1962 by nuclear physicist Leo Szilard and other scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons. These scientists wanted to warn the public and Congress of the threat of nuclear war and start a debate about arms control and nuclear disarmament. Leó Szilárd (right) working with Albert Einstein. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... Nuclear disarmament is the proposed undeployment and dismantling of nuclear weapons particularly those the United States and the Soviet Union (later Russia) targeted on each other. ...

 A Minuteman III missile soars after a test launch.
A Minuteman III missile soars after a test launch.

The Council provides senators with sophisticated technical and scientific information that helps them make intelligent decisions about nuclear arms control, strategic and conventional weapons, the military budget and United Nations peacekeeping. In 1980, the Council created the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation to support its mission by providing outreach to policy-makers, opinion-shapers and voters. Minuteman 3 missile launch Image taken from a United States Air Force website: here. ... Minuteman 3 missile launch Image taken from a United States Air Force website: here. ... The LGM-30 Minuteman is a United States nuclear missile, a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) (the other type is the LG-118A Peacekeeper, which is to be phased out by 2005). ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...


The Council was instrumental in passing:

The Council was also instrumental in: Chemical Weapons Convention Opened for signature January 13, 1993 at Paris Entered into force April 29, 1997 Conditions for entry into force Ratification by 50 states and the convening of a Preperatory Commission Parties 170 The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and... U.S. President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev signing the INF Treaty, 1987. ...

  • Banning biological weapons.
  • Terminating chemical weapons production.
  • Terminating the Midgetman missile.
  • Limiting deployment of the MX missile and B-2 Spirit plane than would otherwise have taken place.

The Council's national political program -- funded exclusively by over 30,000 supporters -- helps elect the Congressmen and women who support nuclear disarmament. Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. ... A Midgetman test launch The MGM-134 Midgetman, also known as the SICBM (see below), was an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the United States of America. ... Test launch of a Peacekeeper ICBM by the 576 Flight Test Squadron, Vandenberg AFB, CA (USAF) The LG-118A Peacekeeper was a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. ... The B-2 Spirit, made by Northrop Grumman, is an multi-role stealth aircraft able to drop conventional and nuclear weapons. ...


Working in Washington

The Council uses many tools to monitor and influence arms control legislation in the U.S. Congress. The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ...



Legislation. The Council helps initiate and draft arms control bills, monitors appropriate committees, arranges for expert witnesses for hearings, and keeps accurate head counts before votes are taken.


Lobbying. Arms control experts lobby Congress and the Administration on behalf of the Council's 30,000 supporters, many of whom have joined their Grassroots Network to lobby Members of Congress personally on key votes.


Seminars. Council board members and other knowledgeable authorities outside of government provide valuable technical, scientific, and tactical information to senators and their staffs. These off-the-record sessions are often attended by many of the Senators.


Information. To inform the public, political figures, and news media, the Council publishes fact sheets on arms control issues and major weapons systems; distributes voting records of senators and representatives on national security issues; and produces literature, articles, and reprints. This information is available through the Council's office, and on the World Wide Web.


Joint actions. The Council works closely with other peace groups to track major legislation, build coalitions for lobbying, and keep the public informed about nuclear disarmament and military budget issues.


Campaigning

The Council is the electoral arm of the peace movement. Its success in helping to elect 104 U.S. senators in 39 years is due to its dedicated supporters and unique political program.


Council supporters provide more funds to opponents of the arms race than any other arms control organization in America -- $1.6 million in 2003-4. Incumbents and challengers alike understand that Council supporters are very serious about eliminating nuclear weapons. The Council's political program begins with exhaustive campaign intelligence gathered months, even years, before elections take place. The nonpartisan Council does not get involved in every race.


The Council chooses races where the differences between candidates on arms control issues are clear-cut. It concentrates on smaller states and primary elections, where campaign dollars go farther. It recommends candidates in close races where Council dollars can be crucial to the outcome and candidates have true financial need.


Unlike other candidate assistance groups, the Council lets its supporters decide which of its endorsed candidates they prefer to support. A Council supporter makes out a check to a candidate and sends it to the Council, where it is pooled with hundreds of other contributions and delivered to the candidate. This guarantees that the candidate knows the contributions are from advocates for arms control.


In the 2004 election, the Council helped challengers such as Barack Obama in Illinois, Debbie Stabenow in Michigan, Maria Cantwell in Washington and Tom Carper in Delaware defeat conservative incumbents. The Council also supported pro-arms control Republican Jim Jeffords (VT). Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. ... Deborah Ann Debbie Stabenow (born April 29, 1950) is a Democratic United States Senator from Michigan. ... Maria E. Cantwell (born October 13, 1958) is the junior United States Senator from Washington state and is a member of the Democratic Party. ... Categories: People stubs | United States Senators | Governors of Delaware | Vietnam War veterans | 1947 births ... James Merrill Jim Jeffords (born May 11, 1934 in Rutland, Vermont) is currently the junior U.S. Senator from Vermont and the only Independent in the United States Senate. ...


For the 2006 elections, the Council is seeking candidates who support deep cuts in nuclear weapons, an end to the deployment of Star Wars and expansion of non-proliferation programs. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), commonly called Star Wars after the popular science fiction movies of the time, was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983[1] to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic...


Issues

Missile Defense

The Council believes that it makes little sense to spend billions for a missile defense system that won't work, doesn't deal with the more likely threats from terrorists, and could be easily overcome by decoys and other counter‑measures. The United States has spent $150 billion since anti‑missile efforts were first launched in the 1950's. No workable system has yet been produced. The Council also believes that such an umbrella could lead to the weaponization of space and an international nuclear arms race, both dangers to U.S. security. Missile Defense is a term referring to systems, weapon programs, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception and destruction of attacking missiles. ... An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. ...


Non-proliferation

The Center's work on non-proliferation issues includes tracking U.S. programs and legislation that support efforts to secure and neutralize nuclear weapons and materials around the world. It follows developments in global proliferation "hot spots" such as North Korea, Iran, and South Asia and provide Congress, the media, and other organizations with regular issue briefs, news updates and analysis, and periodic briefings.


Campaign Iraq: Bring U.S. Troops Home

Having opposed both the War in Iraq and the underlying policy assumptions used to justify it, the Council began its Iraq campaign to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq in 2003. It calls on the Bush Administration to begin working effectively to stem proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Council's statement describing this campaign is as follows: There have been three conflicts in the late 20th century and early 21st century called Gulf War, all of which refer to conflicts in the Persian Gulf region: Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) (aka First Gulf War). ...


"Withdrawing our military from Iraq is the just and honorable solution to an unjust war. While helping Iraq rebuild and achieve stability are worthy goals, after two years of war, our continued presence damages both the U.S. and Iraq more than it helps. “Do no more harm,” must be our guiding principle. The United States should continue assisting the Iraqi people to get back on their feet. But in the meantime, it is time to withdraw our troops to avoid causing more American and Iraqi casualties and creating more terrorists."


See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Council for a Livable World - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1051 words)
The Council for a Livable World was founded in 1962 by nuclear physicist Leo Szilard and other scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons.
The Council is the electoral arm of the peace movement.
The Council believes that it makes little sense to spend billions for a missile defense system that won't work, doesn't deal with the more likely threats from terrorists, and could be easily overcome by decoys and other counter‑measures.
Council for a Livable World Internship Program (621 words)
Council interns are energetic, college juniors, seniors, graduate students or recent college graduates who recognize the need for new rational military spending priorities, and a willingness to learn about national legislation, Congressional elections, weapons systems, arms control, reducing U.S. global weapons sales, and the relationship between these issues.
Organizational Background: The Council is one of the oldest arms control lobbies in the U.S. founded in 1962 by Leo Szillard and other pioneers in nuclear weapons research who recognized the need to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons, to influence and inform Congress and the public of the dangers of nuclear war.
In 1980 the non-profit Council for a Livable World Education Fund was established to educate policy makers and the public about weapons of mass destruction, conventional arms sales, military spending and arms control alternatives.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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