Friends,
The chaotic situation in Afghanistan, the resurgence of a wave of Covid infections amplified by political distortions of science, the toxic excessive partisanship and continuing challenge to democracy in the United States, highlight the fact that we, as humans, are fallible and do not consistently make rational perfect decisions, especially in crisis.

I believe it is arrogant to think we can design systems more perfect than we are. Nuclear weapons systems leave little room for error. It seems obvious then that we must commit and succeed in ending the reliance on pursuing global security based on the threat to annihilate humanity. It is vital that we end the instability of deterrence based on the daily threat of catastrophe. The statistically verifiable risk that the weapons will ultimately be used by accident, design, miscalculation, or madness are simply too high in today's world.

We focus on the challenge of nuclear weapons because it is a nexus of law, morality, economics, practicality, diplomacy, and military policy.

We aim to redirect the pursuit of security based on a more realistic sustainable approach, human security. Please join us in this pursuit.

Warm regards,
Jonathan Granoff
President, Global Security Institute

Jonathan Granoff and Garry Jacobs in The Hill: Building human security for Afghanistan
Terrifying images of people clinging to the wheels of cargo planes taking off from Kabul and falling from the sky recall similar scenes of people falling from the Twin Towers on Sept. 11.

Like Sept. 11, the disgraceful events unfolding in front of our eyes in Afghanistan are the consequences of a misplaced, military-centric view of national security, instead of focusing on human security, which prioritizes education, health, food security, jobs, sustainable development, protecting the environment and climate, and helping cultures and communities thrive.

The premise of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan was that the Taliban allowed safe haven for Osama Bin Laden and a base from which Al Qaeda could execute terrorist attacks on the U.S. — but even after Bin Laden was routed from Afghanistan, the U.S. presence continued for decades.

Failing to center human security led to practices and conduct that made the U.S. intervention appear as empire building. Those who brought about the Afghanistan debacle didn’t take responsibility for its damage to Afghanistan’s people or for pursuing military objectives too often at the expense of what really matters in people’s daily lives, which is always context and culture specific.
Senate Confirms Member of GSI's Nonpartisan Security Group, Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
We are pleased to congratulate Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins who was confirmed recently to be Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Her confirmation followed more than six months of delays in the Senate and bipartisan calls among security experts for her confirmation to go through so she could begin the urgent work helping to lead the State Department’s efforts on arms control and international security.
 
Shortly after her confirmation she joined Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to meet with a Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Geneva for the First Strategic Stability Dialogue in Geneva. The talks were substantive and commenced a process wherein we have hopes for the revival of an arms control agenda that was shattered during the past several years.
Amb. Thomas Graham: Taiwan vs. Tyranny: The US Must Redouble Its Commitment to Secure this Shining Hill of Democracy in East Asia
Note: In the near future the relationship of the US and China will become increasingly important.

A quick look at recent events indicates a need for nuanced and sophisticated diplomacy.  Serious people are evaluating whether the requirement to cooperate to control climate change will be determined by how a potentially toxic adversarial relationship between China and the US is managed.

Even the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance has recently squarely seized the issue. For this reason Ambassador Thomas Graham’s insightful article is particularly timely and relevant. 
by Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr., member of Global Security Institute's Board, and Mariana Budjeryn

With a string of U.S. allies in East Asia wary of China’s rising power, the region is a focus of growing security concerns. A key U.S. partner, Taiwan, is in a particularly precarious situation, as Beijing has never abandoned the vision of the island’s reunification with mainland China. The Biden administration is taking steps, as it did at the recent NATO Summit, to reassure American allies about the longstanding U.S. commitment to their security, ties that were seriously undermined by President Joe Biden’s predecessor.

But after decades of being mired in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the pressures are strong to minimize U.S. security engagements abroad. The Biden administration and Congress should beware of yielding to these short-term pressures. Taiwan warrants a stalwart U.S. security commitment not only to stymie China’s strategic but relentless crawl in East Asia.

Amid the march of illiberal regimes across the globe and in the face of intensifying pressure from the mainland, Taiwan functions as a true democracy. As such, it is a bellwether for other states and territories at risk of authoritarian backsliding — or conquest — and a glowing example of what a liberal democracy and open society could bring to the peoples of Asia and elsewhere. A look at its history reveals Taiwan’s resilience, as well as how – and why – the United States should reinforce its support.

Germany's Nuclear Deterrent: Pro and Con
It is very important to understand the logic of those with whom we do not agree. It is unwise to disregard the thinking that gives rise to the reality of today's nuclear threats as summarily foolish, or worse, done in bad faith.

Brad Roberts was US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy and presently serves as Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Center for Global Security Research.
 
As Germany approaches a decision on whether to replace its fleet of Tornado aircraft with a modern nuclear model, he has argued in favor of upgrading the fleet and continuing NATO’s nuclear sharing agreement.
 
The very respected German Parliamentarian Uta Zapf has written two articles in rebuttal. Ms. Zapf served as the Chair of the Bundestag (German Parliament) Sub-Committee on Disarmament Arms Control and Nonproliferation under both Social Democrat and CDU (conservative) governments. She has served as head of the German Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly and Inter Parliamentary Union – and was Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. She is also a former president of GSI’s PNND. She is a leading member of Global Zero.

We agree with Ms. Zapf but urge you to also read Mr. Roberts's articles to understand the sophistication and premises of those who want to continue to pursue the brandishing of the weapons as a means of sustaining peace and stability.
Frank Von Hippel in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Biden should end the launch-on-warning option
Dr. Frank N. von Hippel, a member of GSI's Board of Advisors, is co-Director of Princeton’s Program on Science and Global Security. In the 1980s, as chairman of the Federation of American Scientists, he partnered with Evgenyi Velikhov in advising Mikhail Gorbachev on the technical basis for steps to end the nuclear arms race. In 1994-5, he served as Assistant Director for National Security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

Both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama came into office proposing to take US intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) off their “hair-trigger alert” status, which keeps them ready at all times to launch within minutes. The time is so short for a president to have to decide to launch in response to Strategic Command’s assessment of an incoming attack that President Bush reportedly complained it might not even be enough time for him to get off the “crapper.”

While in office, Bush failed to act on his concerns. President Obama pursued the issue but retreated in the face of opposition from Strategic Command. The most he could get in the 2013 Nuclear Employment Strategy of the United States was a promise to look into the matter
While enjoying the article, please consider subscribing to and supporting the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an invaluable publication.

The New Paradigm in Politics Symposium with the Lazlo Institute
On July 23-25, The New Paradigm in Politics Symposium was hosted by the Laszlo Institute and included an eclectic group of creative thinkers. GSI President Jonathan Granoff was honored to highlight the Human Security Paradigm. 
Genuine Human Security: with Jonathan Granoff and Maria Espinosa
An important dialogue with GSI President Jonathan Granoff and Maria Espinosa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Ecuador and former President of the United Nations General Assembly. Ms. Espinosa was the first female UN Ambassador from Ecuador.
PLEASE NOTE
Global Security Institute, a leader in the international quest to abolish nuclear weapons, was founded more than 20 years ago by Senator Alan Cranston. Since its founding it has relied on support from donors like you for its work and expansion. Please consider taking a moment to assist us in keeping the message and momentum for nuclear disarmament alive. Thank you.

World Unity Week: Inner Peace and Outer Peace
GSI President Jonathan Granoff joins Azza Karam, Secretary-General, Religions for Peace, Audrey Kitagwa, Founder, International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation, and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Secretary-General, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance in addressing the relationship between inner peace and creating world peace.
Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons Newsletter
Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, an initiative of United Religions Initiative, is composed of dynamic voices from across the political, professional, spiritual, and geographical spectrums who have united in a single purpose: to eliminate nuclear weapons. Founding members include former Secretary of State George Schultz, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, GSI Nonpartisan Security Group Members Ambassador James Goodby and Ambassador Thomas Graham and GSI President Jonathan Granoff.
 
The initiative, led by Bishop Bill Swing, aims to enliven a moral, religious, ethical, and spiritual approach to the challenge nuclear weapons pose to humanity. It is informed by experts and energized by hearts.
 
This new newsletter features 14 fascinating articles including a poem by GSI President Jonathan Granoff. We recommend subscribing.
August 29 marked the commemoration of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests in Geneva. The Basel Peace Office joined Mayors for Peace Europe, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), UNFOLD ZERO, World Future Council and other partners to commemorate the occasion.

Opening remarks for the events were presented by Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, on behalf of the Director-General by Lidiya Grigoreva.

The International Day against Nuclear Tests, she said, marks the closing, in 1991, of the Nuclear Test Site in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, the largest in the former Soviet Union, and one of the largest in the world. 456 tests took place there, with devastating environmental, health and economic consequences still having their impact 30 years later.

"As a result of the unprecedented damage inflicted to its people and territory by nuclear tests, the Government of Kazakhstan has spearheaded the international efforts that led to the adoption of a General Assembly resolution to declare 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The annual observance of the International Day also provides an opportunity to commemorate all victims of nuclear tests, regardless of where they have been conducted."

She reiterated the statement by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres that the legacy of nuclear testing is nothing but destruction, saying "its consequences underscore why we must close the door to nuclear testing once and for all.