Contact Sen. Bingaman: Last Chance to Stop "Divine Strake"

From Friends Committee on National Legislation:
Please disseminate widely! The Defense Department was blocked recently by citizen pressure in Indiana from considering a nuclear program test, called "Divine Strake," in that state. Earlier citizen opposition in Nevada and Utah forced the Pentagon to scrap their plans for conducting the test at the Nevada Test Site. Now the Pentagon is focusing on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The last remaining legislative opportunity to block the test is this Tuesday, September 5, when the defense appropriations bill, H.R. 5631, will be on the Senate floor.

This test is a rehearsal for a nuclear strike against Iran. The test itself would not involve nuclear material, but would be a simulation of a nuclear strike.

New Mexicans should ask Sen. Jeff Bingaman to offer a floor amendment to block the test. * Given the time constraint, emails to senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov and phone calls to ( 202) 224-5521, his Washington office, are needed.

On August 23, Friends Committee on National Legislation - FCNL - wrote Sens. Bingaman and Domenici and asked them to offer an amendment to block the test.  We wrote:

"The Defense Department wants to collect data on very large explosions in rock to calibrate the effects of using a nuclear 'bunker buster' in Iran or North Korea. The Pentagon’s purpose is to 'develop a planning tool that will improve the warfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage.'

"This effort to 'improve' the U.S. nuclear weapons program comes while the administration is asking Iran and North Korea to freeze their nuclear programs. The U.S. government is sending the wrong message to those two countries and the world about nuclear weapons: 'do as the U.S. says, not as it does.'"

Over the last few months, residents in Nevada, Utah, and Indiana have organized enough public opposition to block the Pentagon from conducting the test in their states. *Now we need New Mexicans to use the next few days to block this test--and end the test for good.

Thanks for your help!

David Culp, Legislative Representative   
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)
245 Second Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002-5761
Tel.: (202) 547-6000, ext. 2517
Toll-free: (800) 630-1330, ext. 2517
Fax: (202) 547-6019
Web: www.fcnl.org
Email: david@fcnl.org

Additional information at Truthout.