Is President Trump's foreign policy unravelling?

Image by Gage Skidmore

This article originally appeared in the Morning Star

Shifts in US foreign policy are coming thick and fast as President Donald Trump begins his second year in office. We know now what we didn’t know when he was inaugurated this time last year — resistance to Trump is growing internationally and within the US.

One close-to-home illustration is Trump’s decision to withdraw from opening the new US embassy in London next month.

Opposition to a Trump visit runs through the British political establishment and is visible in Parliament. It reflects the strength of public feeling and is a victory for all of us who’ve campaigned against his visit.

Many and diverse voices were raised at the UN against Trump’s announcement of his intention to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, including the British government and other US allies.

As the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has pointed out, this “shows flagrant disregard for international law, Palestinian rights and international opinion” and will lead to greater tensions in the Middle East.

Trump still threatens to destabilise the Iran nuclear agreement by imposing unilateral sanctions on Iran. Lifting nuclear sanctions was at the heart of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed by the UN security council’s five permanent members and the EU in July 2015, but the EU, the US secretaries of state and defence and Trump’s national security advisers are all speaking out again such a move.

Trump’s attempt to recover from the failure of US policy in the Middle East by calling for sanctions against Syria has also been denounced and opposition to the activities of the biggest US regional ally, Saudi Arabia, is growing fast as the extent of the humanitarian disaster resulting from its war on Yemen becomes known.

Perhaps most interesting of all are recent developments on the Korean Peninsula after a year of growing tensions between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Rhetorical exchanges about nuclear buttons notwithstanding — they’re more suited to the playground than international diplomacy — Trump’s apparent eagerness for a military solution is floundering.

Despite the client-state status of South Korea, President Moon Jae In has reopened the “sunshine” policy towards the northern neighbour which he promised during his election campaign last spring.

The crisis has already begun to destabilise the region. Witness, for example, the moves by President Shinzo Abe to break Article 9 of Japan’s post-war constitution which restricts its military activities.

Experts and activists alike understand that negotiations are the only safe way to resolve the biggest threat of nuclear confrontation since the Cuban missile crisis. Far from bringing North Korea into line, as Trump claims, his rhetorical belligerence has made talks less not more likely.

Many agree, including within the US administration, that a freeze-for-freeze agreement and the reopening of six-party talks is the way forward. The tragedy of 2017 has been to watch the possibility of a political solution recede with every tweet.

Most of these issues, and more, are the focus of discussions at this afternoon’s conference at London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies, jointly called by London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and backed by SOAS CND, Living in Interesting times: How the World’s Shaping up under President Trump, is a timely opportunity to assess the state of international politics at the outset of the new year.

There’s an exciting line-up of speakers, starting with a live link-up with Brian Becker in Washington DC. Becker is the national coordinator of the US Answer Coalition and co-host with John Kiriakou the CIA analyst turned whistle-blower, of the Sputnik Radio’s Loud and Clear show.

Becker will be looking at where President Trump’s foreign policy is headed and how his fellow citizens view his presidency.

He’s followed by a platform that focuses on nuclear challenges. Costa Rican ambassador Jose Enrique Castillo Barrantes will assess progress of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which opened for signatures last September.

He’s joined by Jim Hoare, Associate Fellow of Chatham House and former charge d’affaires (from 2001-2002) at the British embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea, who will provide an expert view of the crisis.

Catherine West, Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green since May 2015 and a staunch opponent of Trident, completes the trio of speakers. West will share an insider analysis of how parliament sees Trump.

Our second plenary focuses on the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula, with Sami Ramadani, a spokesperson for Iraqi Democats and a Stop the War Coalition (StWC) steering committee member. He’ll be joined by Kim Sharif, a lawyer and director of Human Rights for Yemen.

The closing session of conference brings discussion back to Britain. Speakers in the Action for Change session will look at how the anti-nuclear and anti-war movement is shaping responding to the challenges of the new US presidency.

CND vice president Bruce Kent will be joined by StWC chair Murad Qureshi, Momentum rep and Young Labour activist Huda Elmi and Green Party MEP for south-west England, Molly Scott Cato.

We hope some readers will be joining us for what promises to be a great day of debates where plenty of time has been allocated for audience contributions.

Former US military analyst backs nuclear no-first-use policy

A new book, The Doomsday Machine, by former military analyst and cold war hawk Daniel Ellsberg hits the streets at an opportune time. Ellsberg counsels against a pre-emptive attack to remove the North Korean leadership – a strategy under consideration by some in the White House. This, he says, would be more likely to trigger than prevent a nuclear exchange.

Ellsberg calls for the US government to adopt a nuclear no-first-use policy. ‘This is not a species to be trusted with nuclear weapons,’ he says. ‘And that doesn’t just apply to “crazy” third world leaders.’

Writing of the US attach on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he says: ‘We are the only country in the world that believes it won a war… specifically by bombing cities with weapons of mass destruction, firebombs, and atomic bombs — and believes that it was fully justified in doing so. It is a dangerous state of mind.’

In 1971 Ellsberg he leaked what became known as the Pentagon Papers, a US Department of Defence study which showed the White House had systematically lied about its Vietnam War strategy. His leak helped bring the Vietnam War to an end and precipitated the indictment of then-president Richard Nixon. Ellsberg was indicted for conspiracy and espionage, but these charges were later dismissed. The Pentagon Papers were fully declassified and publicly released in 2011.

Ellsberg is well known among anti-war and anti-nuclear campaigners in Britain. He wrote an introduction to EP Thompson’s pamphlet of the early 1980s. Protest and Survive – the peace movement’s ripost to the UK government’s civil defence pamphlet, Protect and Survive, purporting to advise the public how to survive a nuclear war.

• The Doomsday Machine: confessions of a nuclear war planner by Daniel Ellsberg is published by Bloomsbury,432pp, £18.

• Pre-owned copies of Protest and survive, a Penguin Special by EP Thompson, 1980, are available from London CND website, price £5 plus £1.20 p&p.

CND’s peace prize ceremony

On the 10th December 2017, the Nobel Peace Laureate took centre stage in Oslo to collect the 2017 prize. This year's peace prize was awarded to ICAN, the global network which supported the 122 states backing the new UN treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.

CND, along with other members of ICAN-UK, hosted their own ceremony outside the Ministry of Defence to mark the prestigious award and raise awareness about the UN ban treaty. Veteran campaigner Bruce Kent presented ‘awards’ to those campaigners present. Other speakers will included journalist Victoria Brittain, Sheila Triggs from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – a previous Nobel peace laureate, Dr Michael Orgel from Medact and Kate Hudson from CND.

Sheila Triggs and other London members join CND’s celebration of the Nobel Peace Prize award at the MoD with Bruce Kent, 9 Nov 2017

Helen John memorial meeting

30 September 1937 to 5 November 2017

A public memorial for Helen John, co-founder of the Greenham Common Womens Peace Camp and former CND Vice Chair took place in Shipley, West Yorkshire, on 10 December, following Helen’s death in November, aged 80.

London CND chair Carol Turner, a long-time friend of Helen, read a message from Labour Party leader and CND Vice President Jeremy Corbyn:

‘I am so sorry at the death of Helen John. I knew Helen for many years and was always impressed by her penetrating honesty and determination to create a world of peace. She inspired and taught in equal measure that concentrating on improving people's lives, inspiring young people to create a world of cooperation  and peace not war was the right way forward. She lived her life for peace and her presence at Greenham, Faslane, Molesworth, Menwith Hill, Fylingdales showed her practical energy and enthusiasm. I know today is one of sadness but in this we have all learned from Helen and will continue to.’

The Kirkgate Centre was packed by peace movement activists, many from Yorkshire CND. A short humanist address was followed by testaments from friends and co-campaigners, including CND chair Dave Webb, and songs from a community choir. The memorial took place nearby Otley and Keighley where Helen lived in the latter part of her life.

Read Carol Turner’s tribute [‘Helen John remembered’ in News]

London CND saddened by death of Helen John

“Helen John will be remembered and missed by thousands of activists in London and beyond with whom she connected.
”

— Carol Turner, London CND Chair

Everyone in London CND will be saddened by the loss of Helen John, who died on Sunday 5 November 2018, aged 80. Helen was an exceptional figure. Her determined and imaginative actions inspired new generations of young peace campaigners for over 20 years. Many of us remember her ongoing involvement in London CND’s work for over a decade. 

Helen is best known as a co-founder of the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp in the early 1980s where she lived for many years, opposing US cruise missiles stationed in Britain. During that time she shared a flat in East London with her partner, regularly welcoming a stream of CND and other peace campaigners to the home they called ‘Grotsville’.

Helen’s nuclear disarmament journey began when she joined around 40 others, mainly women, on a100-mile walk from a nuclear warhead components factory in Cardiff to Greenham Common airbase near Newbury. The march didn’t attract much publicity, so a few of the women decided to stay until their actions got noticed. Thus began what was to become a 19-year long women’s peace camp.

From then on Helen became a dedicated direct actionist, challenging militarism and asserting her right to protest for more than 25 years, until ill health brought an end to her activities. After she left Greenham, in the 1990s she set up camp at Menwith Hill, a US spy base near Harrogate – a caravan at the side of the A59 in the beautiful West Yorkshire countryside. Her final campaign, in the early 2000s was directed at RAF Waddington in Lincoln, the main operating base for UK drones.

Helen was an unflagging international campaigner too. She is still known and remembered in peace movement circles across North America and Europe. Her activities included as a member of the Global Network against Nuclear Power and Weapons in Space.

Her rich experiences of the peace movement were brought to bear on CND. Helen served first as a National Councillor of CND UK and then as a Vice-Chair in 2001-4. She was present, on behalf of CND, at the founding meeting of the Stop the War Coalition in October 2001.

London CND chair Carol Turner said 'Helen John will be remembered and missed by thousands of activists in London and beyond with whom she connected.'

London CND new guide to setting up a local group

London CND has a new guide to setting up a local group. 

Whether you have been advocating alone for years or just became interested in the topic, setting up a local group allows you to connect with others passionate about this issue in your local area.

As well as this guide, London CND has a dedicated group worker, Georgia Elander, who will help you every step of the way to make your group a success!

CONFERENCE REMINDER: A Labour Assembly Against Austerity

THIS Saturday October 28, from 10.00am (registration 9.30am), Upper Hall, Student Central (ULU), Malet Street, WC1E 7HY - Register here - Share / invite friends on Facebook here

Contact CND if you are willing to help with this conference

Please join us at LAAA's national conference with a dozen sessions featuring:

Diane Abbott MP, Shadow Home Secretary
Richard Burgon MP, Shadow Justice Secretary
Cat Smith MP, Shadow Minister for Voting Engagement & Youth Affairs
Jon Trickett MP, Shadow Lord President of the Council and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
Dawn Butler MP, Shadow Minister for Women & Equalities
Chris Williamson MP, Shadow Minister for Fire & Emergency Services
Karen Lee MP, PPS to the Shadow Chancellor
Kelvin Hopkins MP
Emma Dent Coad MP
Lucy Anderson MEP
Steve Turner, Unite Assistant General Secretary & People’s Assembly Against Austerity
Roger McKenzie, UNISON Assistant General Secretary
Mick Whelan, General Secretary ASLEF
Rehana Azam, National Secretary for public services, GMB
Christine Blower, National Education Union
Mike Hedges, Unite London & Eastern Region Political Committee
Tosh McDonald, ASLEF President
John Hendy QC, co-author of A Manifesto for Labour Law & Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
Maya Goodfellow, Guardian & Independent writer
Duncan Bowie, Senior Lecturer in Housing, Westminster University
Danielle Tiplady, nurse & NHS campagner
Siobhan Endean, National Officer for Equalities, Unite the Union
Lara McNeil, Vice-chair Labour Students
Huda Elmi, Momentum NCG
Sian Errington, Labour Assembly Against Austerity
Seema Chandwani, CLP representative, Labour Party Conference Arrangements Committee
Murad Qureshi, Stop the War Coalition & former London Assembly member
Sabby Dhalu, Stand Up to Racism
Amy Dunne, Jeremy Corbyn 4 PM
Nathan Akehurt, writer
Liam Young, writer & campaigner
Shelly Asquith, People's Assembly Against Austerity
Shabbir Lakha, Stand up to Trump
Matt Willgress, Labour Assembly Against Austerity
Maryam Eslamdoust, Camden councillor
Emine Ibrahim, Greater London Labour Party board member
Peray Ahmet, National Policy Forum member
Christine Shawcroft, Labour Party NEC & Momentum NCG
Claudia Webbe, Islington Councillor & Labour NEC

Supported by Unite, ASLEF, the GMB, London Labour Left and Momentum.
Media Partners: The Morning Star and Jeremy Corbyn 4 PM.
Hosted by the Labour Assembly Against Austerity.

London CND Meeting: Labour Q&A on nuclear weapons

Fabian Hamilton, Labour's Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament gave London CND supporters a rousing speech last week in the Houses of Parliament. He told the engaged audience that he was and always has been a CND supporter alongside Jeremy Corbyn. He spoke about the stance of Labour on nuclear weapons over the years and reasons to be optimistic.

He spoke about the nuclear weapons ban treaty which has just been opened for signature, and how he had been to the UN ban treaty negotiations earlier this year. Which is more to be said for the current UK government who chose to boycott the proceedings with the USA.

Christine Shawcroft, Labour Party National Executive Committee, also spoke with a tone of optimism. She reminded us that nuclear weapons did not protect against 9/11 or 7/7. 

Finally the living legend Walter Wolfgang reminded us of the common sense argument that 'We cannot achieve the society we want if we waste a lot of money on nuclear weapons.' 

London CND New Guide to Setting up a University Group

Universities are places of learning and places of free thinking. They are the perfect place to set up your very own CND university group but this might seem daunting at first.

In come London CND to the rescue. London CND has created a guide to setting up your very own CND university group in your own campus. 

Our guide will explain to you how to:

1. Take your first steps- ratifying the group
2. How to succeed at Freshers Fair
3. Your First Mail out
4. Your First Event
5. Taking the next steps as a group

Download it now

Green Party Conference: a clear stance against nuclear weapons

By Georgia Elander

Last weekend at the Green Party’s autumn conference, there was clearly some soul-searching going on about the party’s place in the new political landscape dominated by Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.

But after Corbyn’s failure to change his party’s policy on nuclear disarmament, this is one area where the Green Party’s voice is crucial.

In co-leader Jonathan Bartley’s speech, he highlighted this issue and spoke about the UN nuclear ban treaty, saying:

“We have choices. And the choices we make, make the future. And there is no greater threat to that future than the choices being made now about nuclear weapons.

“Today I want to say a huge congratulations to ICAN, the International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons. On Friday they won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in bringing about the Global Nuclear Ban Treaty.

“There’s a cosy consensus in Westminster in support of nuclear weapons. But we’re willing to speak the truth.The UK refused to take part in talks on the UN’s nuclear ban treaty. It’s one thing to duck a TV debate. But to boycott the chance to rid the world of nuclear weapons is a reckless abdication of responsibility, a moral outrage, and a gamble with our planet.

“The heightened tensions between the US and North Korea have brought us close to the brink of nuclear war. Yet the UK Government turned away from a chance to wage peace and the official opposition stayed silent.But the truth will be told.

“Nuclear weapons belong in the past. They are dangerous. They do not bring peace. And we want a world without them.”