Britain's disgrace

The British parliament has voted 409-161 to renew the country's Trident nuclear deterrent. The number of Britain's nuclear bombs would be reduced by 20% to fewer than 160 and the number of its submarines carrying the bombs reduced from 3 to 4. Nevertheless, giving the green light to build new submarines, signals a determination to continue nuclear blackmail and a refusal to honor Britain's commitment under the Non-proliferation Treaty to ultimately destroy its nuclear weapons. Britain has decided to increase the accuracy of its atom bombs and its ability to attack a wider range of targets, while at the same time voting at the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on North Korea and Iran. Double standards...

(The Independent: Government left divided as Trident rebels defeated and The voters have good reason to feel let down; The New York Times: British Lawmakers Approve New Nuke Subs; The Times: Trident given go-ahead but party revolt damages Blair and Brown)

War criminal Tony Blair faced an unprecedented revolt inside his own party and only managed to have his nuclear blackmail approved with the support of the Tories.

The Times' commentator Alice Miles has one of the most decent remarks I have read in a long time (The Times: Has no one got the guts to ditch Trident?):

“I would never, ever, ever want a British leader to fire a nuclear weapon. Ever. In any circumstances. Even if someone fired one at us. Even if a country fired more than one at us. I do not believe that responding with equal terror and carnage against other citizens, other families, would ever be the right thing to do.”

Unilateral nuclear disarmament might set a beautiful example, but it is simply not enough. All nuclear powers should be forced to disarm, starting with the one with the largest number of atom bombs and the only power to have ever used nuclear weapons. It will no doubt be a difficult thing to do, but not an impossible thing to do. Kick out all American government officials wherever they may hide until Washington dismantles all its military bases abroad and destroys all its nuclear arms. The same goes for the British.