On June 4th, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) gave a statement on Council for a Livable World’s 50th Anniversary for the Congressional Record:
In a time when our country continues to face a host of global threats, it is important that we recognize the vital work that the Council for a Livable World carries out each and every day to mitigate these threats, and to make our world a more peaceful, a more livable place.
See Senator Wyden’s full statement below the jump.
SENATOR RON WYDEN
Democrat of Oregon
Congressional Record – June 4, 2012
Madam President, on June 6 the Council for a Livable World will celebrate its 50th anniversary. In a time when our country continues to face a host of global threats, it is important that we recognize the vital work that the Council for a Livable World carries out each and every day to mitigate these threats, and to make our world a more peaceful, a more livable place.
The Council for a Livable World was founded in 1962 by nuclear physicist Leo Szilard and other scientists. Szilard, of course, is famous for advocating for the creation of the Manhattan Project that helped create the first atomic weapon. In the aftermath of WWII, he, and others that saw the destructive power of atomic weapons became concerned about their use and spread.
Although times have changed since then–Russia has replaced the Soviet Union, the Cold War is over–the threat of nuclear catastrophe is still ever-present. Terrorists seek these weapons of mass destruction, and nefarious regimes such as North Korea continue to threaten the world with their own nuclear weapons. The Council recognizes this continuously changing threat environment and believes that it is short-sighted and counterproductive to continue relying on Cold War measures, such as an overwhelming nuclear arsenal that could destroy the world many times over.
As former Council Chairman Senator Gary Hart said, “you must properly understand what security is and how it is to be achieved, or all the military spending in the world will not make you more secure.” Those words rang true then, and they continue to ring true now.
The Council for a Livable World believes, like I do, that the United States must work toward a “world free of nuclear weapons.” They expressly advocate for deep reductions, and the eventual elimination, of nuclear weapons.
This advocacy leads to real, tangible results, and not just results in the nuclear weapon reductions arena. Some notable accomplishments include the ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, Conventional Forces in Europe, and the first Strategic Arms Reduction treaty; establishing a U.S. nuclear testing moratorium in 1992; limiting the deployment of the MX missile; eliminating funding for the nuclear “Bunker Buster,” and ratification of the New START Treaty in 2011.
So I hope everyone will join me today in recognizing the Council for a Livable World and the important work that they do to make our world a better place. Congratulations on the past 50 years and good luck in the 50 years that lay ahead. Maybe by then our children will be living, finally, in a world free of nuclear weapons.”
