American Exceptionalism: Part I

U.S. nuclear testing at the Pacific Proving Grounds in 1946. “Baker,” a 21 kiloton fission device, was detonated underwater on July 25. It created a huge condensation cloud and spread much more radioactive water onto the test ships than was expected, with many of the surviving ships becoming too "hot" to be decontaminated. They eventually had to be sunk.

On October 13, 1999, the GOP-controlled Senate emphatically rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), 51 to 48, with only four Republicans joining 44 Democrats in supporting the treaty. This was a devastating blow to a pact that had been at the center of global efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons.

Senate Republicans said it would be impossible to ensure that other nations were abiding by the treaty, and they argued that the pact would make it difficult for the United States to ensure the viability of its own nuclear stockpile. Republicans rejected Democratic complaints that they were sending a dangerous message to other nations interested in joining the nuclear club (like say, Iran). Mostly Republicans wanted to deal then President Bill Clinton a comeuppance for being reelected in 1996, and surviving their impeachment attempt in 1998 -- the gall of the man!

Clinton signed the treaty in 1996. Since then, 164 countries have ratified the CTBT. The United States is not one of them. As an “Annex 2” state (a state with nuclear capability that participated in treaty negotiations), the U.S., along with other Annex 2 states, must ratify the treaty before it can enter into force.

As of 2015, eight Annex 2 states have not ratified the treaty: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have signed but not ratified the Treaty, and India, North Korea and Pakistan have not signed nor ratified it. India says it won’t sign the treaty until Pakistan signs it and you know what Pakistan says. North Korea says [explicative deleted].

The nonpartisan Arms Control Association states that, according to the September 2014 New START declaration, the United States has 1,642 strategic nuclear warheads deployed on 794 ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that the United States' non-deployed strategic arsenal is approximately 2,800 warheads and the U.S. tactical nuclear arsenal numbers 500 warheads. In total, the U.S. has about 4,800 nuclear warheads, including tactical, strategic, and non-deployed weapons. Additional warheads are retired and await dismantlement.

According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), the United States will spend at least $179 billion over the nine fiscal years of 2010-2018 on its nuclear arsenal, averaging $20 billion per year, with costs increasing from $16 billion to $25 billion per year over that timeframe.

The United States is the first and, to date, only nation in history to employ nuclear weapons in war.

Nagasaki, August 1945

In Part II of this series on American Exceptionalism, I will document another American exception, our refusal to ratify the global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

International Activities

This is the view from our son's apartment in Vienna, Austria. We were visiting our son and his family July 13-26 this year.

My grandson is just 3 years-old and already speaks German, Slovene, and English, sometimes all in one sentence.

My son's apartment is on the 21st floor of a building that overlooks Donaupark and that's within walking distance of the Vienna International Center (VIC).

He works at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) in the VIC, which also houses the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

My son's wife works at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), so both hold positions in international organizations in Vienna.

We drove to Seattle on July 12th and flew out of SEATAC at 1845 to Copenhagen on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and on to Vienna via Austrian Airlines, arriving Vienna on Sunday, the 13th, at 1825. Flew SAS Business Class aboard Airbus-340. Excellent seats, adjustable to permit practically flat sleeping.

Overcast, rainy Monday in Vienna. Took brief walk in Donaupark, but spent most of the time indoors playing with grandson and getting reacquainted with his parents -- my son and daughter-in-law. Grandson's favorite plaything, other than the reluctant cat, is his train set.

Rode the U-Bahn to Heilingenstadt on Tuesday with my son and grandson and took a brief walk. There’s a large public housing project here, the "Karl Marx Hof," which looks a lot better than like housing in the States. As I understand it, every Austrian citizen is granted public housing – a basic apartment or flat -- if needed.

As we walk towards the Strassenbahn (electric streetcar) we pass a gypsy woman sitting at the side of the path begging. I drop a few euro coins in her outstretched hand. I come across a number of them at U-Bahn stops during my stay. They all seem to have a cane at their side.

Breakfast over here generally consists of bread or rolls, croissants, butter and jam, meats, like proscciuto and salami, and various cheeses, plus coffee or espresso, tea, or hot chocolate. I alternate between European and American breakfasts, just to keep my digestive tract as confused as my circadian rhythms.

After breakfast, we took a stroll on the Graben, which was crowded with summer tourists.

Part of our vacation was spent visiting in-laws in Celje, Slovenia. Stari Grad, Celje Castle, was built in the 2nd half of the 12th Century. It occupies a strategic location on a steep cliff overlooking present day Celje. We visited the castle on Sunday.