That was President Obama’s response to an Iranian missile test in 2009. The president is right to be concerned about the existence of missiles that may eventually be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. But did you know that the United States regularly test-launches its own long-range nuclear missiles?
The United States keeps 450 Minuteman III missiles, which carry nuclear warheads, on high-alert status, ready to be fired within moments of an order. Since their development in the late 1960s, the US has test-fired this type of nuclear missile over 200 times.
Two tests have already taken place in 2011, with a third scheduled for September 21, the International Day of Peace. That day is officially recognized each year by the United Nations General Assembly as a day for “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.”
So, on the 2011 International Day of Peace, the United States has chosen not “to honor a cessation of hostilities,” but rather to implement a very visible, $20 million test of a nuclear-capable missile.
Send a message to President Obama today, asking him to respect the International Day of Peace by cancelling the Minuteman III missile launch, and to take nuclear weapons off high-alert status in order to lower the possibilities of accidental or unauthorized missile launches.
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