Today the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission chaired by Hans Blix presented its report “Weapons of Terror: Freeing the World of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Arms” to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The following nuclear disarmament specialists are available for interviews:

JOHN BURROUGHS
Burroughs, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, said today: “The Blix report rightly says that these catastrophic devices are dangerous in anyone’s hands; that the problems of existing arsenals, potential spread, and potential acquisition by terrorists are all linked; and that the problems can be solved only by a comprehensive approach leading to elimination of all nuclear weapons.”
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JACQUELINE CABASSO
Cabasso is executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation, which focuses on nuclear policy issues. She said today: “The Commission clearly holds the United States largely responsible for the present crisis. By walking away from tried and true arms control treaties, and by launching an illegal war in the name of ‘counterproliferation,’ the U.S. has seriously undermined international law and endangered international security.”

Cabasso offered one strong criticism of the report, stating: “The Commission explores options for controlling uranium enrichment and plutonium separation activities in order to minimize the risks of proliferation associated with those activities. But they fail to even mention the possibility of phasing out nuclear energy.”
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JENNIFER NORDSTROM
Nordstrom is project associate for Reaching Critical Will, a program of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. She highlighted the report’s statement that a “nuclear disarmament treaty is achievable and can be reached through careful, sensible and practical measures.” Nordstrom cited activity of networks of civil society, such as the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons, as well as the existing Chemical Weapons Convention.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167