Hoosiers Against 'Divine Strake'

Stop 'Divine Strake' completely -- Senate floor debate is ON.
Keep calling the Senators -- Sept. 5th & 6th!

September 5, 2006

Friends,
Thank you for all you have done to keep 'Divine Strake' out of Indiana. Together, we are making a difference.

Today the Senate begins floor debate of the Defense Appropriations Bill. Thanks to the enormous attention 'Divine Strake' has got in Indiana over these past weeks, we have a much better chance to stop it everywhere.

Please call or fax Senators Bayh and Lugar and ask them to offer an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill, blocking Divine Strake. It is crucial to end the illusion that nuclear weapons are usable. This is especially important as the Bush Administration continues to move towards a massive attack on Iran.

Senator Evan Bayh (202) 224-5623
Senator Richard Lugar (202) 224-4814

Send e-mail and FREE fax messages to the Senators, courtesy of 'Friends Committee on National Legislation'
http://capwiz. com/fconl/ issues/alert/ ?alertid= 8983661&type= TA

When you get to this fax page, just write your own simple message: "Thank you for what you have done to keep Divine Strake out of Indiana. Now please stop Divine Strake anywhere, by offering an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill blocking this test."
The Friends Committee on National Legislation talking points are excellent, but be sure to make clear that you know the test is no longer planned for Indiana, and you are asking them not to let it happen anywhere.

The Defense Appropriations Bill is on the Senate floor today. It may take a few days. Time is of the essence, but don't give up.

Thanks -- and peace,

David Keppel

1308 North Maple Street
Apartment 22
Bloomington, IN 47404-3367
(812) 331-2815
keppel@sbcglobal. net

* * *

September 5, 2006

The Honorable Evan Bayh
564 Russell Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Bayh:

On behalf of Hoosiers Against Divine Strake, I am delighted to learn that Michael Evenson, Acting Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, has stated that DTRA has no plans to conduct Divine Strake in Indiana. We much appreciate your concern on behalf of many diverse constituents united in strong opposition to this test. We believe that Indiana's Congressional delegation and citizen action are making a significant difference.

Our goal is to block Divine Strake altogether. It must not take place in Indiana, New Mexico, or anywhere. As we learned what it would mean to have a 10,000 foot mushroom cloud over Indiana, many Hoosiers had a chance to understand, in the most personal terms, just what even a nuclear simulation means for any community. I wish it had been possible for you to be in Mitchell to attend the two very impressive press conferences with Mayor Butch Chastain. Citizens who defy stereotype expressed their anger over previous, smaller explosions about which they had not been informed - and their determined opposition to Divine Strake.

I believe that you and we now have an important opportunity to use the heightened level of public awareness to take a major step to reduce the nuclear threat. In the words of DTRA, Divine Strake is designed to "improve the war fighter's confidence" in using nuclear weapons "with a minimum of collateral damage." If even the non-radioactive mushroom cloud is highly toxic, how can we pretend that there is a real nuclear weapon with a low threshold for use?

There simply is no way to calculate or condone the effect of using a U.S. nuclear weapon (perhaps the B61-11) on Nantanz or anywhere else. DTRA was interested in the limestone of southern Indiana because of the geology of "significant adversaries. " As you know, Iran lies on a fault. A U.S. nuclear weapon would set off a political earthquake whose shock would be felt globally for decades. The damage to what remains of our national legitimacy and security might well be irreversible. Because some key members of the Bush Administration seem bent on confrontation with Iran, this is an acute worry. Even conducting this test shatters our credibility on non-proliferation.

As we thank you warmly for your efforts to date, we continue to urge you strongly to offer an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill blocking Divine Strake altogether. You would win overwhelming praise in Indiana. You would also be taking an important national and international initiative showing that at a decisive moment you are willing also to apply limits to the world's most dangerous nuclear arsenal, our own.

We are in solidarity with the people of New Mexico, who may now be the unwilling hosts to this test. We thought you might like to see a letter which citizens there are sending to Senator Bingaman. Perhaps you could work with him to offer the amendment blocking Divine Strake. In any case, I know your own initiative would command attention and respect in the Senate and give the amendment every chance for success.

Let me add a word of thanks for the extraordinary kindness which Liz Brinkerhoff and Todd Rosenbloom have shown us during these discussions.

With appreciation and best wishes,

Respectfully yours,

David Keppel

Hoosiers Against Divine Strake


In addition to Hoosiers Against Divine Strake, on whose behalf I am writing, the following groups and individuals responded to a weekend email requesting endorsement of this letter. Had it not been for Labor Day weekend, there would no doubt have been many more responses.

Bloomington Peace Action Coalition (Bloomington, Indiana)
Brown County Green Party (Brown County, Indiana)
Center for Sustainable Living (Bloomington, Indiana)
Christians for Peace in the Middle East (Franklin, Indiana)
Heartwood (Bloomington, Indiana)
Indiana Forest Alliance (Bloomington, Indiana)
Indiana Green Party
Indiana Peace and Justice Network (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Monroe County Green Party (Monroe County, Indiana)
Northwest Indiana Coalition Against the Iraq War
Protect Our Woods (South-central Indiana)
Terre Haute- Stop War on Iraq (Terre Haute, Indiana)
Valley Watch (Evansville, Indiana)
Task Force on a Just Peace, Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, Indiana
Shagbark (Paoli, Indiana)
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - Bloomington Branch (Bloomington, Indiana)
Mary Ann Fadae, Indianapolis, IN.
Donald Litchtenberg, Professor of Physics Emeritus, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
Rita Lichtenberg, Bloomington, IN.
Isabel Piedmont, Chair, Bloomington Environmental Commission, on her own behalf.
Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes, Monroe, MI
Don't Waste Michigan, Holland, MI
Citizens' Resistance at Fermi Two, Monroe, MI

The following is the text of a letter that New Mexico groups are sending to Senators Bingaman and Domenici. I believe that it would be wise to draft the amendment simply to block the test rather than to refer specifically to its funding, lest the Pentagon resort to creative accounting.

September 4, 2006

The Honorable _________:

We request your urgent attention on an issue of international importance.
The U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency has planned to detonate 700 tons of ammonium nitrate/fuel oil to simulate the underground shock waves of a low yield nuclear weapon on hardened underground targets in a test called Divine Strake (DS).

A DoD February 2005 budget document for "RDT&E Defense-Wide Advanced Technology Deployment" describes the test as a "full-scale tunnel defeat demonstration using high explosives to simulate a low yield nuclear weapon ground shock environment at Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site." Additionally, the DoD's "Tunnel Target Defeat Advanced Concept and Technology Demonstration" document explicitly declares that such tests are needed to "improve the warfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage."

DS was originally scheduled to be detonated at the Nevada Test Site on June 2, 2006. However, it was subsequently cancelled due to mass opposition to the test from over 40 environmental, human rights, Native American Tribes and peace organizations. There are new concerns that the Pentagon is considering moving DS to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

There are many reasons why funding for 'Divine Strake' should be eliminated:

* The DST is an affront to taxpayers. The exorbitant costs associated with the DST are particularly appalling at a time when millions of Americans - with New Mexicans ranking at the bottom of the barrel - lack health care and basic human services.

* DS is not justified in light of information gathered from previous testing. Data on ground shock waves are readily available from the historical nuclear weapons tests that took place at the Nevada Test Site, as well as dozens of simulated nuclear effects tests that took place over the
years in Hawaii, Indiana, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and in New Mexico at the White Sands Missile Range.

* DS may constitute a threat to public health. Were it to be rescheduled for the Nevada Test Site there are serious concerns that the explosive blast could result in the air-borne spread of residual radioactive contaminants from decades of past nuclear testing to Downwinders and surrounding communities. Wherever it might be held, it would likely result in the dispersion of a complex mix of toxic chemicals.

* The DST may be found to be in violation of United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and discriminate against the rights of the Mescalero Apache who live in the vicinity of the White Sands Missile Range or the Western Shoshone near the Nevada Test Site.

* DS will set a bad international example while the Bush administration is demanding that Iran and North Korea freeze their nuclear programs. Contradictorly, the test could strongly signal the potential willingness of the U.S. to launch a nuclear strike against North Korean and Iranian nuclear facilities.

* DS will violate the spirit of the 1970 NonProliferation Treaty (NPT). In 1996, the International Court of Justice, the judicial branch of the United Nations, unanimously held that Article VI of the NPT requires the nuclear weapons states "to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control." In April 2000, the NPT Review Conference further affirmed the intention of Article VI that all parties to the NPT, and specifically those that possess nuclear weapons, must achieve complete nuclear disarmament.
Conducting simulated nuclear weapons tests with the goal of calibrating their ground shock effects while "minimizing collateral damage" suggests an effort to enhance their "usability." We must always bear in mind the human suffering and environmental devastation that resulted from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The U.S. should consistently act to discourage the potential use of nuclear weapons, rather than engage in tests that could have the opposite effect.

We, the undersigned organizations, respectfully request that you consider sponsoring a floor amendment to the defense appropriations bill, H.R. 5631, scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor, Tuesday, September 5, to eliminate funding for this controversial test.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Dayton, Director
Citizen Action New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Jay Coghlan, Director
Nuclear Watch of New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Dave McCoy Assistant Director,
Citizen Action New Mexico

David Culp,
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Washington, DC

John Hadder,
HOME, Healing Ourselves and Mother Earth
Tecopa California

John Hadder, Reno Anti War Coalition
Reno NV

Pete Lister, Executive Director
Shundahai Network
Salt Lake City, UT

Chelsea Cologne
NDE - Nevada Desert Experience
Las Vegas, NV

Leonore Tomero
DC Arms Control and Non Proliferation
Washington, DC

Andy Mahler
Blue Rivers
UT

Vanessa Pierce, Executive Director
Healthy Environment Alliance, HEAL Utah
Salt Lake City, UT

Carrie Dann, Executive Director
Western Shoshone Defense Project, WSDP
Crescent Valley, NV

A "half victory" ... Keep calling the Senators!

August 31, 2006

Congratulations everyone! The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has confirmed that they will not explode 'Divine Strake' in Indiana. (see below)

This victory was the result of well-organized and devoted activists mobilizing the general public to become engaged in taking action. That is -- make phone calls, send e-mails and faxes, and motivate others to get involved. Thank you to all who got involved.

However ...

This is only a "half victory." The DTRA may have decided to reject Indiana as their testing ground, as they did in Nevada, because of organized public outcry. But, THEY HAVE NOT taken 'Divine Strake' off their planning schedule for 2007. (see below)

Our Indiana Senators, have so far, been unwilling to introduce an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill BLOCKING 'Divine Strake' from happening somewhere in 2007.

Remember, 'Divine Strake' spells ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER wherever it will be exploded, and paves the road to a nuclear assault on the nation of Iran.

That is why it is imperative that we not loose the momentum!

We must all keep calling Senator Lugar and Senator Bayh and implore them to introduce an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill, blocking 'Divine Strake.'

Thank Lugar for helping to stop 'Divine Strake' in Indiana. Then tell him that stopping a Hoosier ‘Divine Strake’ is not enough … 'Divine Strake' must not happen ANYWHERE!

Senator Evan Bayh (202) 224-5623
Senator Richard Lugar (202) 224-4814

Send e-mail and FREE fax messages to the Senators,
courtesy of 'Friends Committee on National Legislation'
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8983661&type=TA

Send e-mail messages to the Senators (and to newspapers),
courtesy of 'Tree of Life Alliance'
http://www.usalone.com/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?pnum=455

A national conference call of activists opposing ‘Divine Strake’ occurred this afternoon. The Nevadan, Native American, and other western activists haven’t slapped each other on the back and stopped their work. They extended their organizing hand to Hoosiers, desiring to help us in Indiana stop ‘Divine Strake’ from happening here.

Let’s help stop ‘Divine Strake’ from happening ANYWHERE!

Join us on Friday.

‘Hoosiers Against Divine Strake’
Strategizing Meeting
Friday, September1, 2006
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
Monroe County Public Library, Room 1-C
303 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, Indiana

Please CAREFULLY read ALL of the following information.

*******

Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 11:44 AM
Subject: LUGAR CONFIRMS DIVINE STRAKE WILL NOT TAKE PLACE IN INDIANA

DOD Will Not Test Explosives in Indiana
Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has confirmed to U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar that they will not conduct a major test explosion in Lawrence County, Indiana.

In an August 29 letter to Lugar, DTRA Acting Director Michael K. Evenson wrote: Thank you for your inquiry concerning DTRA’s Tunnel Target Defeat experiment designated as DIVINE STRAKE. DTRA has no plans to conduct DIVINE STRAKE in the State of Indiana. Any discussion to the contrary is incorrect.

Lugar wrote Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on August 16 asking about reports in the August 2 Las Vegas Review-Journal that indicated Indiana was being considered as a possible test location. Secretary Rumsfeld wrote Lugar on August 22, saying that the agency would be providing Lugar with an answer, which they did yesterday.

The text of the letter is available at: http://lugar.senate.gov/reports/DTRA_response.pdf

*******

Friends,

We won an important but limited victory when the Defense Threat Reduction Agency assured Senator Lugar that Divine Strake will not happen in Indiana. But our goal is to stop this test, period. To do so, we need Senator Lugar and Senator Bayh to offer an amendment next Tuesday, September 5th, to the Defense Appropriations Bill, blocking this test. We do not want a toxic mushroom cloud in New Mexico either. We do not want the United States to use a nuclear
weapon on Iran.

Please call our Senators and thank them for what they have done so far. Please also strongly urge them to offer an amendment blocking Divine Strake.

Senator Richard Lugar 202-224-4814
Senator Evan Bayh 202-224-5623

Thank you for what you have done, and carry on!

David Keppel
1308 North Maple Street
Apartment 22
Bloomington, IN 47404-3367
(812) 331-2815

August 30, 2006

The Honorable Richard G. Lugar
306 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-1401

Dear Senator Lugar:

On behalf of Hoosiers Against Divine Strake, I am delighted to learn that Michael Evenson, Acting Director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, has assured you that DTRA has no plans to conduct Divine Strake in Indiana. We much appreciate your acting on behalf of many diverse constituents united in strong opposition to this test. We believe that your initiative and citizen action are making a significant difference.

Our goal is to block Divine Strake altogether. It must not take place in Indiana, New Mexico, or anywhere. As we learned what it would mean to have a 10,000 foot mushroom cloud over Indiana, many Hoosiers had a chance to understand, in the most personal terms, just what even a nuclear simulation means for any community. I wish it had been possible for you to be in Mitchell to attend the two very impressive press conferences with Mayor Butch Chastain. Citizens who defy stereotype expressed their anger over previous, smaller explosions about which they had not been informed – and their determined opposition to Divine Strake.

I believe that you and we now have an important opportunity to use the heightened level of public awareness to take a major step to reduce the nuclear threat. In the words of DTRA, Divine Strake is designed to "improve the war fighter's confidence" in using nuclear weapons "with a minimum of collateral damage." If even the non-radioactive mushroom cloud is highly toxic, how can we pretend that there is a real nuclear weapon with a low threshold for use?

There simply is no way to calculate or condone the effect of using a U.S. nuclear weapon (perhaps the B61-11) on Nantanz or anywhere else. DTRA was interested in the limestone of southern Indiana because of the geology of "significant adversaries." As you know, Iran lies on a fault. A U.S. nuclear weapon would set off a political earthquake whose shock would be felt globally for
decades. The damage to what remains of our national legitimacy and security might well be irreversible. Because some key members of the Bush Administration seem bent on confrontation with Iran, this is an acute worry. Even conducting this test shatters our credibility on non-proliferation.

As we thank you warmly for your efforts to date, we continue to urge you strongly to offer an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill blocking Divine Strake altogether. You would win overwhelming praise in Indiana. You would also be taking a crucial step to broaden and deepen the work of the Nunn-Lugar Initiative, by showing that at a decisive moment you are willing also to apply limits to the world's most dangerous nuclear arsenal, our own.

With much appreciation and all best wishes,

Respectfully yours,
David Keppel

*******

Divine Strake blast won't be detoured to Indiana

By Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Thursday, August 31, 2006

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_4265339

WASHINGTON - Indiana is out as a potential alternative for the Divine Strake test, the massive detonation the Pentagon originally planned for the Nevada Test Site, but that now has been put on hold because of opposition.
A limestone quarry in Indiana had been mentioned in news reports as a possible site after officials from the Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency told Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch that they were looking at relocating the test. In a letter Tuesday to Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar, the acting director of the agency, Michael K. Evenson, wrote that "DTRA has no plans to conduct Divine Strake in the State of Indiana. Any discussion to the contrary is incorrect."
The Divine Strake test entails detonating 700 tons of explosives at the Nevada Test Site to measure the damage done to a tunnel by the blast and the 3.4-magnitude earthquake it would create.
Pentagon budget documents said the test was designed to help war planners choose the smallest possible nuclear weapon to destroy underground targets, but Pentagon officials later said the reference to nuclear weapons was a mistake.
The Divine Strake explosion would be roughly 50 times larger than the blast from the largest conventional weapon and on par with small nuclear weapons.
The test had been scheduled for June 2, but was postponed after members of Congress questioned the planning and a lawsuit was filed by a Nevada Indian tribe and a group of Downwinders, individuals who say their cancers and other illnesses were caused by Cold War nuclear tests in Nevada.
Earlier this month, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency notified Congress that the test would not proceed until several months into 2007, at the earliest, and that the agency would look at other potential sites.
Several similar blasts, some several times larger than Divine Strake, were conducted between 1977 and 1991 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Also on Wednesday, the new chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Dale Klein, said he supports the Divine Strake test. Klein, a former Defense Department official who worked on nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said the Divine Strake test would improve computer models designed to calculate how much force is needed to destroy an underground target.
He also reiterated earlier statements that some renewed nuclear tests might help improve nuclear weapons reliability.

--
CANCEL THE DIVINE STRAKE!
http://www.stopdivinestrake.com

*******

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b61-11.htm

Friends:

Divine Strake -- the 700 ton explosion (that was) under consideration for Mitchell -- is to calibrate (set the level of) an EXISTING nuclear weapon, the B61-11. Bush may want to use it on Nantanz, the uranium enrichment facility 130 miles south of Tehran, before he leaves office.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/natanz-imagery.htm

Such a strike would have to be part of a massive U.S. attack on Iran's highly dispersed program; the U.S. attack would mostly use conventional weapons and (even apart from its nuclear aspect) kill thousands.

Senator Bayh's office is answering emails about Divine Strake with an irrelevant letter about the Congressional status of ANOTHER, new, nuclear weapon, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator.

This is a diversion.

We need an answer: Will our Senators offer an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill blocking Divine Strake?

Jam those switchboards:

Bayh 202 224-5623
Lugar 202 224-4814

Thanks/ and peace,
David Keppel

*******

The Homeless Mushroom Cloud

By David Keppel

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency needs to find a home - for a mushroom cloud. Neither Nevadans, nor Utahans, nor Hoosiers have been particularly hospitable. New Mexico seems to be next on the list.The mushroom cloud in question is to a smile as the Cheshire Cat is to a nuclear weapon.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency - how Orwellian! -- wants to conduct a test, using an explosion of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, to simulate a low-yield nuclear weapon. Its code name is Divine Strake. Not in itself a nuclear explosion, this test uses a massive conventional charge (280 times what Timothy McVeigh used on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City) as a way of studying the effect of a nuclear weapon used against hardened underground targets. According to the Pentagon, its purpose is to "develop a planning tool that will improve thewarfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage."

Divine Strake was scheduled for June 2, 2006 at the U16B tunnel complex at the Nevada Test Site. But local residents, especially downwinders in Utah, did not accept the Pentagon's initial assertion that the effect of such a blast would be "negligible." With the help of Utah's Senator Orin Hatch and Congressman Jim Matheson, they argued that radioactive soil from previous atomic bomb testing would be lofted into the air by the huge explosion. Generations of downwinders have died and fallen ill from cancer from atmospheric nuclear tests of the 1950's. The prospect of a new10,000-foot mushroom cloud was too much. A lawsuit from the Native American tribe Western Shoshone and downwinders forced the Defense Department to delay, then cancel the test.

Hoosiers were startled to learn that the August 2nd Las Vegas Review Journal reported that Irene Smith, a spokesperson for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, had mentioned a limestone quarry in southern Indiana, together with a missile site at White Sands, New Mexico, as a possible site for the blast.

Even without the radioactive dust of Nevada, the mushroom cloud would be filled with more than two tons of cyanide compounds, as well as phosgene gas (the primary ingredient of mustard gas chemical weapons), carbon tetrachloride, and chlorine. If detonated in the limestone karst geology of southern Indiana, with its caves and underground streams, the explosion could contaminate ground water in a wide area.

Southern Indiana is conservative, but on August 28th Butch Chastain, mayor of the small town of Mitchell in which the blast was to occur, announced his opposition. At this press conference, one resident said that State Farm Insurance had told her that her homeowner's policy would not cover her for any damage. The next day, Michael Evenson, Acting Director of the Defense agency, wrote to Indiana's Senator Richard Lugar to say there were "no plans to conduct Divine Strake in the State of Indiana." It is now our gift to New Mexico.

But this test should not happen anywhere. If the mushroom cloud from a simulated nuclear explosion is unacceptable, then just how "minimal" would the "collateral damage" be from the real nuclear weapon it is simulating? Listen to the Strangelovean language justifying the original Nevada site, which no doubt applied to Indiana as well: "As a number of potential adversarial military targets are based in similar limestones, [Divine Strake] needed to be sited in a similar geological setting to actual military targets."

The Iranian uranium enrichment facility at Nantanz is 130 miles south of Tehran. In a U.S. strike on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, it would be a prime target. The military reportedly objected to a request from President Bush and Vice President Cheney to plan a nuclear strike on Iran. But scenarios for destroying Nantanz, which is buried and hardened with sand and concrete, without nuclear weapons also ran into technical difficulty. Would a wave of conventional bombs burrow down to the tunnels or just boil the soil? Iran sits on a geological fault. Whatever the physical effect, the political earthquake of using a U.S. nuclear weapon for the first time since Nagasaki, in a preemptive attack on an Islamic country, would be shattering.

The United States cannot expect so-called rogue states to forgo even uranium enrichment for nuclear power while it itself refines nuclear weapons in thefantasy and perhaps the terrifying reality of using them - even, as President Bush's Nuclear Posture Review proclaims, against non-nuclearstates. This administration effectively mocks the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is a grand bargain in which non-nuclear countries abstain in exchange for existing powers' commitment to work towards nuclear disarmament.

Let the Pentagon travel from state to state with its prospective mushroom cloud, so that all Americans have an equal chance to say No to the test and No to the weapons being readied in our name.

Or let Congress block both this test and the fantasy of usable nuclear weapons.

David Keppel
1308 North Maple Street #22
Bloomington, IN 47404-3367
(812) 331-2815

*******

August 28, 2006

Hon. Richard G. Lugar
United States Senate
306 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
Washington, D.C.20510

RE: Divine Strake

Dear Senator Lugar:

We strongly urge you to join in a bi-partisan effort, with other Senators, to offer a floor Amendment removing ALL funding, for the Divine Strake bunker buster test, from the Pentagon appropriations bill HR 5631, awaiting Senate approval on Tuesday, September 5th.

The suggestion, by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), to conduct the Divine Strake test in a quarry near Mitchell, IN, as one of two alternative sites, is highly irresponsible. The explosion of 700 tons of a chemical compound would cause immeasurable harm to the health of countless citizens, incalculable negative environmental impact, and untold damage to public and private properties.

Any plan to test Divine Strake, whether in Indiana, New Mexico, or elsewhere, is cause for extreme alarm. Its use "...to simulate a low yield nuclear weapon ground shock environment" and to "…develop a planning tool that will improve the warfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage" will be interpreted as an aggressive act and as an attempt, by the U.S. Government, to circumvent the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). In addition, it will be an insult to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

The continued pursuit of the Divine Strake test, by DTRA, whose “…main purpose…is to study ground shock effects on deeply buried tunnel structures…” and whose “…secondary…” purpose “…is the airblast produced by a buried charge and its modification as it propagates over the local terrain," lifts the veil of secrecy on the real intent of the Bush Administration: to plan for nuclear warfare against the subterranean nuclear facilities in Iran.

Such a plan MUST be stopped, NOW. The execution of Divine Strake, and its nuclear off-spring, would be the final blow to an, already, fragile U.S. image, around the world. It would open the floodgates for further hatred and vengeance against American military personnel, citizens and facilities, abroad and, potentially, at home.

Thank you for your support to keep America strong and to follow the pathway of peace, humanitarian considerations and diplomacy to resolve the many critical problems facing this nation and the World!

Very truly yours,

Ingrid and John Russell
Hoosiers Against Divine Strake

Ingrid and John Russell
2405 Boston Road
Bloomington, IN 47401
812-333-7120 / jrihruss@msn.com

Calls To Action to Stop 'Divine Strake' (Aug.26, 2006)

The best step that each of us can take personally is to call Senator Evan Bayh and Senator Richard Lugar.  This is very important and time critical. 
Call before September 5th.
The request to the Senators is simple: "Please offer an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill blocking Divine Strake."

Senator Evan Bayh (202) 224-5623
Senator Richard Lugar (202) 224-4814

Full contact information for all Indiana Senators and Representatives are available at the bottom of this page.

Calls and faxes (and thirdly e-mails) are most needed to the Senators. Thank you!

****************************************************************

'Hoosiers Against Divine Strake' will hold its second public strategizing meeting on Friday, September 1, 1:00 p.m.
at the Monroe County Public Library, Room 1-C in Bloomington, Indiana.

All opposing 'Divine Strake' are welcome. We need you!

****************************************************************

Online Petitions ~
Stop 'Divine Strake' by writing to Senators and Representatives

Online Petition initiated by 'Friends Committee on National Legislation'
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8983661&type=TA

Online Petition initiated by 'Tree of Life Alliance'
http://www.usalone.com/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?pnum=455

Medical, Health, and Science community against 'Divine Strake'
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/777143278?ltl=1156707731#body

Religious Leaders Opposing Divine Strake ~ Online Sign-on Letter
A sign-on letter for religious leaders in Indiana (heads of congregations, faculty from religious schools, and denominational staff) was initiated by 'Faithful Security' and the 'Friends Committee for National Legislation'. The deadline for signatures is Thursday, August 31st at 5 PM, and the letter will be delivered in person to Senator Lugar and Senator Bayh's staff on Friday, September 1st. 

The Sign-on letter can be accessed at: http://ga3.org/campaign/divinestrake

Please pass these on!

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Articles about 'Divine Strake'

"Divine Strake in the Bible Belt"
Counterpunch (August 18, 2006)
http://www.counterpunch.org/blair08182006.html

See all articles and letters published in Bloomington, Indiana's daily newspaper,
The Herald Times by clicking here.

"Is military planning blast at quarry?"
Indianapolis Star ~ Associated Press (August 26, 2006)
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/LOCAL/608260512

"Quarry mentioned as blast test site"
Louisville Courier Journal (August 17, 2006)
Environmentalists fear effects of 700-ton bomb
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060817/NEWS02/6 08170468

"Military tested explosives at Ind quarry"
Indianapolis Star (August 16, 2006)
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060816/LOCAL/60816030

"Company: Military tested explosives at southern Indiana quarry"
Ft. Wayne News Sentinel (August 16, 2006)
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/15288924.htm

Radio reports:

http://news.wfhb.org/mp3/DLN20060828.mp3

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Call and write your Senators to
Stop 'Divine Strake'

It is extremely urgent that each and all of us call Senator Evan Bayh and Senator Richard Lugar immediately to stop Divine Strake, a massive military explosion simulating a bunker buster nuclear bomb. Under consideration for Mitchell, Indiana, this explosion of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil will create a 10,000 foot mushroom cloud of toxins and pollutants over southern Indiana. It will contaminate groundwater.

This test simulates a nuclear weapon -- clearly meant for offensive use in a strike on Iran. Such a strike would shock the world and incite terrorism. It would be criminal under international law.

Originally planned for the Nevada test site, but stopped there by determined activists, Divine Strake is now under consideration for a quarry near Mitchell, or for White Sands, New Mexico. It must not happen anywhere. We will not allow our community to be used in this way.

We must act immediately. The best chance for Congress to stop it is directly upon us. On September 5th, the Senate will resume its floor debate prior to voting on the Defense Appropriations Bill. (As you know, Appropriations is the second of two processes, and thus is our last Congressional chance.) PLEASE CALL SENATOR LUGAR AND SENATOR BAYH AND ASK THEM TO OFFER AN AMENDMENT BLOCKING "DIVINE STRAKE." Please call your friends and urge them to make calls. Please forward this message widely. Senator Evan Bayh (202) 224-5623
Senator Richard Lugar (202) 224-4814

Together, we can stop Divine Strake. (For more information, please continue reading: first, a letter from the Friends Committee on National Legislation; second, a letter signed by some peace and environmental activists in Indiana.)

Your Senators Can Stop Possible Nuclear Program Test in Indiana -FCNL

The Defense Department is considering conducting a weapons test near Bedford, IN next year to bolster the U.S.'s nuclear weapons program. Please contact your senators, Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh, and urge them to block the test, called "Divine Strake." Senators could block the test by offering an amendment to a Pentagon funding bill that will be considered on the floor of the Senate Tuesday, September 5.

Take Action

Contact your senators by phone, email or fax and ask them to offer an amendment to block the "Divine Strake" test when the military appropriations bill, H.R. 5631, comes to the Senate floor. (Given the delays in U.S. mail to congressional offices, postal mail will not reach the senators in time.)

You can find a sample letter and contact your senators directly through FCNL's website.

Write your letter here:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8983661&type=TA

Senator Bayh 202-224-5623
Senator Lugar 202-224-4814

Please help get the word out about this proposal for a nuclear program in your state by forwarding this email to your friends and neighbors in Indiana.

Background

The "Divine Strake" test would involve an underground explosion of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate to simulate the use of a low-yield nuclear weapon against an underground target. The test would not involve nuclear material.

According to Defense Department officials, it would "send a mushroom-shaped dust cloud 10,000 feet into the atmosphere and release an explosive yield equivalent to detonating 593 tons of TNT." This yield is more than 100 times the size of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

While the Pentagon had planned to conduct the test at the Nevada Test Site, opposition from local residents and environmental agencies in Nevada and Utah forced the Defense Department to look elsewhere. The Pentagon is now considering the use of a limestone quarry outside Mitchell, 70 miles south of Indianapolis. The other site being reviewed is the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The Defense Department wants to collect data on very large explosions in rock to calibrate the effects of using a nuclear "bunker buster" in Iran or North Korea. According to the Pentagon, its purpose is to "develop a planning tool that will improve the warfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage."

This effort to "improve" the U.S. nuclear weapons program comes even as the administration is asking Iran and North Korea to freeze their nuclear programs. The U.S. government is sending the wrong message to those two countries and the world about nuclear weapons: "do as the U.S. says, not as it does."

The military appropriations bill, H.R. 5631, which covers the Pentagon, will be on the Senate floor Tuesday, September 5.

Find Out More

Read FCNL's letter to Senators Lugar and Bayh asking them to offer an amendment to block the "Divine Strake" test.

Find out more about nuclear disarmament on FCNL's website. ________________________________________

Friends Committee on National Legislation 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795 fcnl@fcnl.org * http://www.fcnl.org phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

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(Note: The following letter is to Congressman Mike Sodrel. Be aware, however, that contacting Senator Bayh 202-224-5623 and Senator Lugar 202-224-4814 is our highest priority in the coming days.)

August 20, 2006

The Honorable Mike Sodrel
1508 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Sodrel:

We are shocked to learn that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency is considering a massive military explosion, code named Divine Strake, for a limestone quarry near Mitchell, Indiana. It is an explosion of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, configured to simulate a 593-ton nuclear warhead. It will produce a 10,000-foot mushroom cloud filled with toxins and pollutants, a hazard to residents from Indianapolis to Louisville. It is also likely to contaminate the vulnerable karst limestone ground-water aquifer that underlies south- central Indiana.

The government now claims that Divine Strake simulates a conventional, not a nuclear, explosion. But its own budget request for 2006 describes the experiment as a "full scale tunnel defeat demonstration using explosives to simulate a low yield nuclear weapons ground shock environment." The 2007 budget request omits the nuclear reference but leaves the experiment unchanged.

As you know, Congress has blocked funds for low-yield nuclear weapons such as the "Bunker Buster." The Bush Administration is thus in violation of the law in proceeding with this test. Congress cannot allow the President to act in contempt for the Constitution, which he is sworn to uphold. Such contempt must be considered an impeachable offense if we are to remain a nation of laws.

It is unacceptable that, 61 years after U.S. atomic bombs killed 200,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Bush Administration is committed to developing "usable" nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Posture Review endorses using U.S. nuclear weapons first, even against non-nuclear states - undermining the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty. Vice President Cheney reportedly approved Israel's bombing of Lebanon, as preparation for a U.S. strike on Iran. The administration's nuclear double-standard spurs isolated regimes such as Iran and North Korea to seek nuclear weapons. Actual use of a U.S. nuclear weapon would unleash global fury and incite nuclear terrorism. It would be nuclear terrorism.

Divine Strake must not take place - in Indiana or anywhere.

As the Ninth District Representative, you will understand that Divine Strake is unacceptable to your constituents. We respectfully submit that you have a solemn duty to stop it.

Very truly yours,
David Keppel
Bloomington Peace Action Coalition

Timothy Baer
Organizer, Bloomington Peace Action Coalition

John Blair
Valley Watch http://valleywatch.net/

Russell Boulding
Boulding Soil-Water Consulting

Rev. Bill Breeden
Co-Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church, Bloomington

Dr. Christine Glaser
Lecturer of Economics, IUPU-Columbus
Co-founder, Center for Sustainable Living
Organizer, Bloomington Peace Action Coalition

Pam Hanratty
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington

Andy Mahler
Orange County Community Development Corporation

Karyn Moskowitz
Protect Our Woods

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Hoosiers Against Divine Strake

August 25, 2006, at Monroe County Public Library, Room 1-C
Meeting Minutes

Submitted by Christine Glaser, Bloomington Peace Action Coalition

About 25 people were present.

• The group decided that in the future we will call ourselves “Hoosiers Against Divine Strake”.
• The next meeting is on Friday, Sept. 1, 1:00 p.m., at the Monroe County Public Library, Room 1-C in Bloomington, Indiana.

SHARING OF INFORMATION

• Questions were asked about how Divine Strake was defeated in Nevada: There was a coalition of grassroots groups working together and a lawsuit brought by two people challenging an inadequate Environmental Assessment. A lawyer from Toledo Terry Lodge, was involved in this lawsuit. “We've jammed it to DOE in federal court in Vegas for a woefully inadequate Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI).” Terry contacted Heartwood, and may be willing to help out in Indiana. The whole EA is available from http://www.nukestrat.com/us/stratcom/gs-divinestrake.htm . Check on pages 151 and 152 of the Revised Environmental Assessment of Divine Strake for chemicals that would be released in the explosion.
• It was stressed by several speakers how important it is to call Indiana Senators Bayh and Lugar before Sept. 5, when the Defense Appropriations Bill will come up in the Senate. Ask the senators to TO OFFER AN AMENDMENT to the DEFENSE APPROPRIATION BILL BLOCKING "DIVINE STRAKE." Faxing messages would work as well, and there is nothing wrong with calling repeatedly or contacting the senators through different avenues. While writing letters in general is a good idea, in this case it is not advisable because letters often take a long time to get to the senators and most likely will not be read before Sept. 5. So calling and faxing are the best ways to contact them in this situation. It is also important that when people call, to make sure that their names and addresses are noted by the senators staff. This ensures that there is a record and that they will have to respond.

•  Questions were asked as to the materials used in the explosion and why they are dangerous to health and environment. A list of materials used for this explosion and potential health effects can be accessed through John Blair's article http://www.counterpunch.org/blair08182006.html

“ More than two tons of cyanide compounds, 1,535 pounds of phosgene gas, the primary chemical in "mustard gas" chemical weapons, 1,318 pounds of methylene chloride, a human carcinogen, 2,387 pounds of carbon tetrachloride, another carcinogen and 1,650 pounds of chlorine, a poison, will be released from the giant explosion being suggested by the United States Department of Defense for southern Indiana in 2007 in southern Indiana”

• David Keppel explained that the Divine Strake explosion is a simulation of a nuclear bunker buster bomb explosion. The 700 tons of explosive material to be used for Divine Strake have the same explosive strength as a (much lighter weight) nuclear bomb that could be used on suspected underground nuclear sites in Iran or in North Korea. By using non-nuclear material for the Divine Strake explosion, the government circumvents the nuclear test ban treaty, since it doesn't test a nuclear bomb directly.

• Several people said that they wanted to start petitions. At this point those are only useful if they are delivered to the Indiana Senators before Sept 5. It probably makes more sense to encourage people to call or fax.

There are several online petitions/letters that people can use,

on the FCNL website :
http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8983661&type=TA

Tree of Life Alliance website:
http://www.usalone.com/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?pnum=455

and there is a sign-on letter for Religious Leaders from Faithful Security and Frriends Committee on National Legislation: http://ga3.org/campaign/divinestrake

Medical, Health, and Science community against 'Divine Strake'
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/777143278?ltl=1156707731#body

We will send links to those petitions out to the meeting participants per e-mail. As of now (Aug. 29) they can also be accessed on the BPAC website www.BPAC.info .

• Woman from Bedford (Mitchell??) said she contacted Valerie Luchauer, the Lawrence County Emergency Management Director (812 275-2063), lcema@lawrence_county.in.gov . She claimed not to know anything about Divine Strake.
• Question was asked about the Governor's (of Indiana) stance on Divine Strake: His office claimed not to have known about the plans or about the pre-tests in 2004 and 2005
• Someone suggested to spread the word about Divine Strake at Indiana University and to find out whether there is a National Radon Group – since radon would be released from the bedrock as a result of the explosion.
• There is a petition that was just started by “ Faithful Security” and the “Friends Committee for National Legislation”. This is a sign-on statement for religious leaders in Indiana (heads of congregations, faculty from religious schools, and denominational staff).  The deadline for signatures is Thursday, August 31 st at 5 PM, and the letter will be delivered in person to Senator Lugar and Senator Bayh's staff on Friday, September 1 st. Bill Breeden said he had already been contacted and would spread the word about it. Send the following link to your networks in Indiana: http://ga3.org/campaign/divinestrake .
• No environmental assessments have been conducted for the pretests in Mitchell.
• Some discussion developed on Patricia Axelrod, who recommended having the sites of the two preparatory explosions in Mitchell tested for radioactive contamination. Axelrod claims that in similar situations the explosives were contaminated with radioactive substances, including DU.
• Suggestion was made to ask for a boycott of Rogers Group if they consent to this test on their property.
• Spring Mills Park is close to the test site, and the suggestion was made to get relevant state agencies involved with this issue, since the park may be affected by the explosion and the resulting pollution and damage to karst.
• It is important to inform local governments (mayors, city and county councils) around the state.
• It is important to draw national and international attention to this issue.
• There is a conference call planned for Aug. 31 in which organizers against Divine Stake from around the country will discuss further steps.

COMMITMENTS FOR ACTION

• Someone asked whether the Rogers Group had been contacted and asked to not allow the test on their property. Guy Loftman said he has connections to the Rogers Family in Bloomington, and that he would contact them to make them aware about this issue.

• John Russell will contact Amy Goodman, talk to a neighbor who works for Crane and to a friend who works at SPEA
• Elaine said she would put a petition in her Chiropractor Office, She needs a hard copy of the petition.
• Letter to the editor.
• Tree of Life Alliance has already designed a flier and petition that is available on their website. http://www.usalone.com/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?pnum=455
• David Stewart will contact the head of the Geology Department.
• Renee' of Tree of Life Alliance suggested phone bank or phone tree.
• David Keppel is compiling a data bank of information for reporters that we can pass on if we are getting phone calls from reporters. This is meant to be a list of angles on the story, each connected with a name of someone the reporter could talk to.
• Suggestion to have a dedicated BPAC website with links to all relevant information.
• Andy Mahler will spread the word over his e-mail lists. WFHB will have a program about this issue on Interchange Sept. 12.
• David Keppel said he would do a recording for WFHB next week and had already done one for WFIU.
• Bill Breeden will elicit support from the faith community
• Bill Breeden related that Jessie Cook would help with an injunction.

• Russell Boulding brought two Geiger counters and said that he would make them available to anyone who wanted to go to the test site and check for radiation. The suggestion was made that we find someone who works for Rogers Group and could take the Geiger Counters to the site.

• David Jansen said he will put out a PFC petition and suggested a larger Forum on Divine Strake on IU Campus.
• Joe will inform the Zen Buddhist Community, a priest at St. Paul Catholic Center, and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
• Student will have table on campus.
• Tracey will use her connections to BEDC, Chamber of Commerce and Cook Group.
• Hannah will speak to Chamber of Commerce, Biology Department and in the medical community (Oncology) of Indianapolis and Bloomington. She will pass on the medical petition she is developing to others.

• IU student said that his father is a minister at North Central Church of Christ in Mitchell and that there was a Bible Camp near Mitchell down from Spring Mills Park. He volunteered to inform church members about this issue.

• Tree of Life Alliance: is it possible to have a demonstration at the site?
  ~

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United States Senators from Indiana

Senator Richard G. Lugar (R)
United States Senate
306 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1401

DC Phone: 202-224-4814
DC Fax: 202-228-0360
E-mail Address: senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov

Senator Evan Bayh (D)
United States Senate
463 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1404

DC Phone: 202-224-5623
DC Fax: 202-228-1377
E-mail Address: http://bayh.senate.gov/LegForm.htm

 

United States House of Representatives from Indiana

Congressman Mike Sodrel - Distrist 9 (R)
1508 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1409

DC Phone: 202-225-5315
DC Fax: 202-226-6866

Bloomington Office:
Phone: 812-330-1543
Fax: 812-330-1546

Congressman Peter J. Visclosky - District 1 (D)
2256 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1401

DC Phone: 202-225-2461
DC Fax: 202-225-2493
Email Address: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Congressman Chris Chocola - District 2 (R)
510 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1402

DC Phone: 202-225-3915
DC Fax: 202-225-6798
Email Address: http://www.house.gov/formchocola/IMA/chocemailform.htm

Congressman Mark Edward Souder - District 3 (R)
2231 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1403

DC Phone: 202-225-4436
DC Fax: 202-225-3479
Email Address: souder@mail.house.gov

Congressman Stephen E. Buyer - District 4 (R)
2230 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1404

DC Phone: 202-225-5037
DC Fax: 202-225-2267
Email Address: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Congressman Dan Burton - District 5 (R)
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1405

DC Phone: 202-225-2276
DC Fax: 202-225-0016
Email Address: http://www.house.gov/burton/zipauth.htm

Congressman Mike Pence - District 6 (R)
426 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1406

DC Phone: 202-225-3021
DC Fax: 202-225-3382
Email Address: http://www.house.gov/formpence/IMA/contact.htm

Congresswoman Julia Carson - Distict 7 (D)
1535 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1407

DC Phone: 202-225-4011
DC Fax: 202-225-5633
Email Address: http://juliacarson.house.gov/

Congressman John N. Hostettler - District 8 (R)
1214 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1408

DC Phone: 202-225-4636
DC Fax: 202-225-3284
Email Address: John.Hostettler@mail.house.gov

 

 

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