News Item: 7 June 2005

Update: Janet Bloomfield reports on Robert McNamara’s appearance at the Hay Festival of Literature.

From the Horse's Mouth - Atomic Mirror helps raise WMD Awareness at Hay Festival of Literature.

A literary festival in the bucolic surroundings of the Welsh border countryside might not seem an obvious place to confront the dangers of weapons of mass destruction. On the first weekend of June it was hard to avoid! On Sunday June 5th, the Atomic Mirror supported WMD Awareness Programme brought the unique insight of former US Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, to the Hay on Wye Literature Festival. McNamara quit as President Johnson’s Secretary of Defense over the bombing of North Vietnam and was a key participant in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. In a packed marquee full of over a thousand people he gave a devastating critique of the British and American approach towards nuclear weapons. During the session chaired by Jon Snow and sharing the stage with Professor Robert Hinde, chair of the British Pugwash Group, McNamara said that Britain should not develop a new nuclear weapons capability and that the development of new nuclear weapons is insane and a waste of money.

“Despite the end of the Cold War fifteen years ago, the US nuclear weapons policies are today essentially what they were when I was Secretary of Defense 40 years ago. If I were to characterize US and NATO nuclear policies in one sentence, I would say they are: immoral; illegal; militarily unnecessary; very, very dangerous in terms of the risk of inadvertent or accidental launch; and destructive of the non-proliferation regime that has served us so well over the 40 years.”

He went on to warn of the dangers of nuclear proliferation, “North Korea states that it has produced a nuclear weapon and that it will continue to proceed on that path. Iran seems to be moving in the same direction. If proliferation proceeds, it will adversely affect the security of nations across the globe. Therefore it is an issue that should be dealt with by the United Nations Security Council.”

To prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, Robert McNamara urged the current nuclear weapons states to take action to provide confidence-building measures. He said, “The US and Russia should be directed to remove their nuclear forces from hair-trigger alert and from preparation for launch on warning. The five declared nuclear weapons states should follow a policy of No-First-Use, reinstate and make explicit their Negative Security Assurances pledges and accelerate reductions in their level of their nuclear forces. They will stop developments of new nuclear weapons and will not initiate action to prepare for weapons testing”

He was passionate about the need for empathy for one’s opponents in a crisis. The ability to step into another’s shoes and see the situation from their point of view was, from his perspective, vital for good decision-making. Negotiation was the only way to deal with the problems of Iran and North Korea, as there are no military solutions. At a vital and eloquent 89 years old, his wisdom was clear for all to see. Both he and Robert Hinde were scathing about the “war on terror” and its failures.

During a lively question and answer session, it was clear that that there is a huge democratic deficit between the people, who seek non-violent solutions to the problems of the world, and the current political elite.

The Atomic Mirror is a founding supporting group of the WMD Awareness Programme. For more information on the programme and for a copy of Robert McNamara’s recent speech at the UN, where he set out further steps to reduce the dangers of nuclear proliferation, see www.comeclean.org.uk. The Hay on Wye Literature Festival is the UK’s premier book festival attended by over 100,000 people from May 27 to June 5, 2005. www.hayfestival.com.

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