Bibi and Boehner's Gift to the Nuclear Disarmament Movement

House Majority Leader John Boehner and
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

It may be counterintuitive, but House Majority Leader John Boehner has actually done a good thing by inviting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.

The biggest problem we face in the nuclear disarmament movement is getting people to pay attention to the nuclear threat. Well . . . people are paying attention now!

And they'll keep paying attention, day after day, for the next month, as the Bibi Brouhaha plays out.

We often complain about how the mainstream media doesn't give attention to the issues that really matter. (Underinflated footballs, anyone?) Well, for better or worse, this Netanyahu story is guaranteed to be in everyone's face for weeks. (Hey, John Boehner is not one to cut his losses when he finds himself in the midst of a fiasco. Expect escalation.)

Netanyhu is coming to talk about nuclear weapons. Iran and nuclear weapons.

Our job? Take advantage of every development in the story to shine the light of day on the real nuclear weapons story. We need to stress that Iran + nukes is just a sideshow . . . hell, Israel + nukes is just a sideshow! . . . the main event is the U.S. and its nukes -- and its failure (together with the other nuclear "haves") to disarm.

The press and a large percentage of the public has already picked up on the fact that the ostensible story -- "Iran bad, Israel here to save US from disaster -- with help of Republicans" -- is a joke. The press and the public are already talking about the story behind the story . . . and the story behind that. So . . . it's time for us to sweep in with the real story (and it's a heavy one)!

The Bibi and Boehner Show is barreling full steam toward the spring Review Conference on the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT RevCon) and rapidly developing nuclear disarmament mobilization in the US and Europe. Towards the world's anger at the U.S. for the nuclear threat it poses. For its broken promises. For its thermonuclear monarchy.

This story isn't going away.

Let's make hay while the sun shines.


Related posts


There are three centers of power that will impact nuclear disarmament: the President, the Congress, and the people. One of them will have to make nuclear disarmament happen.

(See Countdown to U.S. Nuclear Disarmament (With or Without the Politicians) )

Far too many people think that the NPT is about freezing the status quo, and preventing additional states from obtaining nuclear weapons. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. The NPT is based on a quid pro quo: nuclear "have-nots" agree to not acquire nuclear weapons, and nuclear "haves" agree to disarm.

(See A DEAL'S A DEAL! (What part of "nuclear disarmament" doesn't the US understand?) )

2015 "No Nukes" Mobilizations planned in the US already include New York City in April, Nevada in March, and New Mexico in August.


(See Key 2015 Events for Nuclear Disarmament Movement Organizers )












In session after session of Congress, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) introduces a bill calling for nuclear disarmament. Here's the summary of the version from the 2013-14 Congress (the 113th), known as "H.R.1650 - Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2013". What I'm wondering is: will Rep. Norton have the support of her colleagues in the Progressive Caucus?

(See "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion" - the 114th Time's the Charm! )


The choices are: (a) take back the power currently held by our thermonuclear monarch; or (b) shut up and pray. Those are the only two choices, and everybody gets to choose where they stand. The people in Congress who won't step up to either of them are a nothing but a bunch of putzes.

(See Congress is a Bunch of Putzes )

As the Obama administration prepares in the days ahead to pivot from its focus on Syria to something truly startling -- talking to Iran! -- it is important that the American public devotes some time and energy to learning and thinking about Iran, the history of the U.S.-Iran relationship, and what the U.S.-Iran relationship means in the larger context of the effort to reduce the risk of war and violence in the world.

(See IRAN: 3 Reality Checks on the Emerging U.S. Narrative)