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Jacqueline Cabasso of Western States Legal Foundation

Jacqueline Cabasso; co-author of Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security? (2007) speaks about the current struggle to keep the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty alive and well in the 21st Century during the Bush Administration's War on Terror and continuing struggle in Iraq.

"In recent years ... regressive U.S. policies… along with the acquisition of nuclear weapons by North Korea, the ongoing confrontation with Iran over its quest to acquire a uranium-enrichment capability, and the intense disappointment of  Arab states regarding the failure to take steps to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East, have caused many to fear for the survival of the nuclear non-proliferation/disarmament regime. two episodes dramatized the crisis: the 2005 NPT Review Conference ended without reaching any substantive agreement, largely because the United States refused to permit any reference to commitments made at previous conferences; and heads of state at the 2005 World Summit were unable to agree on a single word regarding nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. ” (from Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security? 2007)

Jacqueline Cabasso, a leading voice for nuclear arms abolition, has been involved in nuclear disarmament, peace and environmental advocacy at the local, national and international levels for more than 25 years. She has served as Executive Director of the Oakland-based Western States Legal Foundation since 1984. At the national level, she serves on the Steering Committee of United for Peace and Justice. Ms. Cabasso has participated as an accredited NGO representative in more than a dozen negotiating and review sessions of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. She represented WSLF in the first preparatory meeting for the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, in Vienna last May. Ms. Cabasso has written and co-authored numerous articles for publications including the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the journal Social Justice.

 For more information about the work of the Western States Legal Foundation, please see the website: http://www.wslfweb.org/