Message to President Barack Obama with respect to forthcoming Hiroshima visit
[Prefatory Note: I sent the following message to the White House today, and encourage readers of this blog to do the same <www.whitehouse.gov>This symbolic visit by Obama creates a major opportunity to advance a denuclearization agenda, and we should take as much advantage as possible. I am against the mainstream advice that suggests that the best way to give meaning to the event would be to announce the adoption of arms control measures such as suspending development of a new nuclear cruise missile. These measures, while intrinsically valuable, have the downside of stabilizing the nuclear weapons status quo. What would be most helpful would be a step, as suggested below, that gives primacy to nuclear disarmament instead of continuing the deceptive practice of taking prudent steps to cut risks of accidental use and curtail provocative developments and deployments. These steps take the public eye off the supposed target of nuclear disarmament. The only was to honor the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is by moving toward Nuclear Zero, and President Obama is one of the few persons on the planet that has this precious chance to aim at the true target. Of course, it would be appropriate, and long overdue, to apologize to the Japanese public for the ghastly suffering inflicted by the atomic attacks, but that is more than we can reasonably expect a cautious president to do.]
Message to President Barack Obama upon the announcement of his intended
Visit to Hiroshima
Mr. President:
I applaud your decision to visit Hiroshima during your upcoming visit to Japan.
I would encourage you to supplement your acknowledgement of a MORAL responsibility of the U.S. in your 2009 Prague Speech with an acknowledgement of a LEGAL responsibility to seek in good faith nuclear disarmament, a point unanimously asserted by the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion of 1996. Such a move would also recognize the legal obligation embedded in Article 6 of the NPT.
Making such an historic affirmation would give new life to the pledge to give real meaning to the vision of a world without nuclear weapons, and
act to heighten your legacy in this vital area of your presidency. It would put legal, as well as moral, pressure on all nine nuclear weapons states to comply with their obligations under international law, and in the American case, since the since the NPT is a duly ratified treaty, to act in accordance with the Constitution’s recognition of treaties as ‘the supreme law of the land.’
Respectfully,
Richard Falk
Global Justice in the 21st Century 
May it be so.
I’m moved that Obama is going to Hiroshima. It would be great to have him appeal to a legal obligation to disarmament. I will send a note to the White House to this effect. Regardless of his specific comments, his presence will open the door for widespread reflection on the horrors of nuclear weapons. In this and in many other areas, he demonstrates bold and humane leadership.
Totally disgusting of him. If anything he should first visit Okinawa in solidarity with the thousands of Islanders who suffered torture, enslavement and death at the hands of the Japanese.
Have the Japanese apologized for their sins against the Chinese? Koreans? British? Canadians? Philippines? Americans? Hardly…..
“I would hate to be hit by a torpedo.”
“A world without nuclear weapons, and act to heighten your legacy in this vital area of your presidency”. Were you kidding Dr. Falk?
Barack Obama has no such legacy. In fact, he sheltered Israeli nukes against NAM and Arab countries demand to declare the Middle East a nuclear free region.
In 2010, Islamic Republic held its second international conference on a nuke-free Middle East. It was attended by representatives from 40 states plus United Nations and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Tehran conference, as expected, was ignored by the Zionist-controlled western media. The Canadian-American Zionist Jewish Islamophobe, David J. Frum, the man behind Dubya Bush’s notorious ‘axis of evil’ speech, made fun of the conference by calling it “a theater of the absurd“.
On October 14, 2011 – United Nations, the US, Russia and Britain announced their intention to hold an international conference on a nuke-free Muslim East in Finland in 2012, which was killed by Washington under Jewish lobby pressure.
Washington has history of using bomb-grade uranium to punish their allies if they dare to offend the Zionist regime. For example, Yoishi Shimatsu, a former editor of ‘Japan Times Weekly’ had claimed that Israeli Mossad sabotaged Fukushima reactor in retaliation for Japan’s support for an independent Palestinian state.
“The US and Israel knew Fukushima had weapons-grade uranium and plutonium that were exposed to the atmosphere after a massive tsunami wave hit the reactor,” says Yoishi Shimatsu.
https://rehmat1.com/2011/11/03/nuclear-arms-race-and-nuke-free-muslim-east/
A Note:
“No, no, no.” “Nothing done.” “What is done is this: nuclear warming.” “Keep on in hate animal race of humans and keep on adding to the nuclear warming.” “After all, that is your destiny.” “Self-chosen.” “Irrevocably evil.”
No. Professor is not kidding. At least there was something done – it was said that nuclear weapons should be abolished. Will it take place, and really by which means will they do it?
Keep on in hate! Right? With that all will be done?
Another note: “Every nuclear warhead adds to the nuclear warming, deployed. You can believe that and have no doubt.”
Four notes – Bla, bla, bla…
Israel has vast track of desert because it has 400 nuclear bombs.
North has no desert because it has a few nuclear bombs.
India’s south is covered with huge tracks of desert because it has 100 nuclear bombs.
France has no desert because it has 350 nuclear bombs …..(extracts from Nuclear Handbook, published by Daniel Pipes).
Setsuko Thurlow, 83 year old survivor of the August 6, 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing, makes a profound, powerful, irrefutable case for the abolition of nuclear weapons from this Earth, for all time:
Apology – here is Setsuko Thurlow’s moving talk after being awarded by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation on October 25, 2015:
Ryuichi Hirokawa, internationally known Japanese photojournalist, film director and author of several books on Israel, Palestine and Middle East. In 2008, he produced and directed the movie NAKBA ( catastrophe in Arabic). Hirokawa is author of Children of a Stolen Land: Documentary Photographs of Palestine, and two-volume Yudayajin (The Jews).
Hirokawa believes that Israel is an extension of Western imperialism in the Muslim heartland. He like Israeli/Jew writers and authors, such as, Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, Israel Shahak, Israel Shamir and Roger Tucker, doesn’t buy the Zionist narrative of the Jewish and Palestinian history.
Hirokawa’s work is also greatly admired in Zionist Occupied United Kingdom. He is considered a Hero by many British citizen.
https://rehmat1.com/2015/03/23/ryuichi-hirokawa-famous-japanese-antisemite/
Yes, a moving and excellent talk..Thanks for calling it to our attention.
It would seem most unlikely that Obama’s words could be more than platitudinous regarding Hiroshima. The US is upgrading its nuclear weapons and we now have storage in NATO countries – Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey. Answering critics, the US states that because the bases are under our control, it does not count as expanded nuclear states. The General Conference of IAEA in 2009 voted 49 – 45 with 16 abstentions that Israel should be open to inspections. The Israeli delegate stated that Israel would not cooperate. Pakistan and India are also rogue nuclear states with poor human rights records – no problem.
American veteran groups oppose the visit for obvious reasons.
If the US were not in such a hypocritical position, the visit might have meaning. Not just regarding this type of weaponry but the significant number of US aggressive actions and provocations throughout the world. We shall be most interested in this upcoming piece of political theater.
A Note:
“United Nations Government along with its International Laws and Charters is a successfully accomplished fraud experiment.”
“Don’t you know that?”
“Pakistan and India are also rogue nuclear states with poor human rights records – no problem”.
YES- if one believes the lies generated by US-based Zionist-controlled ‘Human Rights Watch (HRW) that expelled Dr. Falk on the behest of Geneva-based Israeli advocacy group, UN Watch.
The world’s greatest abusers of human rights have been United states and Israel – both established on the blood and bones of tens of millions of natives.
On June 6, 2013, the top United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) official, professor Richard Falk called on 47-nation body to “investigate” and if found guilty, expel the Geneva-based Israel lobby group, the UN Watch.
In his latest report, Richard Falk said the UN Watch’s “smear campaign” is carried out in “numerous settings, including at the Human Rights Council, as well as university campuses where Falk gives lectures.” He called upon UNHRC member nations to set-up a mechanism to protect its Special Rapporteurs from the Zionist smear campaign against freedom of thoughts.
https://rehmat1.com/2013/06/11/richard-falk-calls-for-removal-of-jewish-un-watch/
“Don’t believe the lies:”
“Thief’s, Thief’s, Thief’s in satanic seals (Antichrist/s!)”
“Its was not America. It was the thievery of the Thief’s!”
“They still want for general population to pay for their ongoing and generational exploration and death of the peoples (world-wide). They drain resources and still while collect HUMAN and NATURAL RESOURCES.”
Don’t be foolishly deceived. Thief’s, Thief’s, Thief’s in satanic seals (Antichrist/s!)
Fugetaboutit…..
pathetic lot
Laurie:
Your are, of course, right about the contradictions, but the visit is an opportunity to reflect upon
the attacks as well as on the dangerous reality of continuing possession and development of nuclear weaponry.
Obama creates political space and visibility, both of which have diminished since end of Cold War.
I agree with your thoughtful analysis. I wrote the President before it was announced he would go to Hiroshima in order to encourage him to do so. Then wrote him again after the announcement to encourage him to meet with survivors, offer words of condolence and conciliation, and announce more extensive plans for disarmament. I asked him to live up to the legacy of his Nobel Peace Prize. I doubt he will but it is still worth the time and effort to encourage him to.
Thanks for your work in this regard.