Maj. Gen. Saighal makes a compelling case for "paradigm shift in nuclear disarmament."

Retired Indian Major General, Vinod Saighal, delivered a rousing speech to the plenary audience at last month's International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War World Congress in Basel, Switzerland. His presentation came after the disappointing remarks of Laura Kennedy, U.S. Amabassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament who reiterated the Obama position that as long as there were nuclear weapons in the world, the U.S. would maintain its nuclear deterrent; and that the administration was committed to expanding nuclear energy. Saighal tied the slow pace of nuclear disarmament (and indeed the re-arming of the U.S. arsenal) to the very real climate crisis also not addressed by powerful nations. He pointed out:

"The Obama Administration publicly disclosed the (previously classified) total number of operational US nuclear warheads in existence today - which stands at just over 5,000. While this step was a move in the right direction in terms of drawing attention to the United States’ massive stockpile, it was cynically pursued alongside a quiet announcement by the Department of Energy (originally made in September 2009) that the US is moving forward with developing a new generation of nuclear weapons, rather than working toward nuclear disarmament as legally required under the NPT."

And later stated among many excellent points:

"People around the world are not unaware of the concomitant threats to planetary habitability that could make life on the planet nightmarish for the coming generations. Instead of acting in unison to ward off these threats while it is possible to do so most nations spend their time bickering for narrow gains that will cease to be relevant after as short a time span as 10 to 20 years.  As suggested by the title of the talk the vast majority of those who care must go beyond the existing paradigms in their search for global solutions. Not tomorrow or in the coming decades, but right away. Time is no longer on the side of the human race."

Read the full speech.