Fw: Help Strengthen Nuclear Nonproliferation

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Guthrie"
To: "Miriam Vieni"
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2005 4:33 PM
Subject: FCNL: Help Strengthen Nuclear Nonproliferation

Next week representatives from over 150 governments will gather in New
York to review implementation and compliance with their commitments
under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This treaty codifies
one of the most important international security bargains of our time:
states without nuclear weapons pledge not to acquire them, while
nuclear-armed states commit to eventually give them up. Through this
bargain, the NPT has made the United States and the world safer by
restraining many countries that would otherwise have developed nuclear
weapons.

The 2005 NPT review conference, which runs from May 2 to 27, is a vital
opportunity for the United States and the international community to
recommit to the treaty's goals for both nonproliferation and
disarmament.

Our increasingly interconnected world demands actions to prevent the
spread of nuclear weapons. It will take a shared effort from nuclear
and non-nuclear countries to build a world free from the threat of
nuclear weapons. The NPT is the cornerstone of just such an approach.

President Bush and Congress should make it the policy of the United
States to pursue a balanced set of reinforcing nonproliferation
measures:

* More should be done to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons
technology and materials through tighter controls on nuclear weapons
technologies and a redoubling of efforts to secure nuclear materials in
the former Soviet Union.

* To prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to new countries, the
authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor
compliance with the NPT should be expanded. The U.S. should pursue more
effective diplomacy to halt the nuclear weapons programs of Iran and
North Korea.

* The United States should abandon efforts to pursue a new generation
of "usable" nuclear weapons, often described as "bunker
busters."

* The United States must uphold its end of the bargain by implementing
deeper, verifiable nuclear reductions. It should support the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, as well as a treaty banning the
production of weapons-usable nuclear materials.

There are Many Ways You Can Help Strengthen the NPT.

1. Convey your concerns about nuclear nonproliferation in the absence
of a viable NPT agreement. Urge Congress to reaffirm support for the
NPT. The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is a good deal that must be
honored, and the United States should lead by example in lending its
support to the world's best defense against the world's deadliest
weapons.

Urge Congress to make it the policy of the United States to seriously
engage in multilateral efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons
in the upcoming review conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty. In particular, urge House members to cosponsor H.Con.Res. 133.
The resolution, drafted by two Republicans and four Democrats,
expresses support for the NPT and for the review conference in May.
Follow this link to write a letter
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/BJVZEQIVRA/EBJJEQIVZL/

2. Write a letter to the editor. The opening session of the NPT review
conference will generate substantial press coverage in the United
States. You can use this press coverage as an opportunity to write your
local newspaper, thank your newspaper for writing about the NPT review
conference, and urge the U.S. government to uphold its end of the NPT
bargain by implementing deep, verifiable nuclear reductions. For more
information on writing a letter to the editor, go to
http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/BJVZEQIVRA/HHLHEQIVZM/

3. Find out more about the NPT review conference. Visit the FCNL web
site on Nuclear Disarmament at www.fcnl.org/nuclear

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