Last week, ETS! described the pending visit of the Navy's Trident nuclear submarine to Seattle for Seafair. A number of the ETS! readers who sent letters to Seattle Mayor Norm Rice forwarded Rice's form response to us. We, in turn, thought we should share it. Norm's letter epitomizes both what's wrong with popular conceptions of the military and what's been wrong with Rice's long history of fact-free efforts to mollify everyone while continuing to cater to the powerful. Here's the response:

Thank you for your message about the presence of the Trident-class nuclear submarine USS Ohio in Elliott Bay as part of this year's Seafair festivities.

Though it has been over 50 years since the United States used nuclear weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the lasting images are ones we cannot and should not let fade. That is why I recently signed Resolution 29610, to proclaim August 6 and August 9 Days of Peace and Justice in Seattle.

Rather than divide us, the appearance of the USS Ohio in Seattle on August 6 can serve as an opportune reminder of our ongoing duty as Americans to leave our children with a safer world than the one in which we grew up. We must be vigilant in our efforts to ensure that we never again see the destructive power of nuclear weapons unleashed on the world.

While I understand your concerns, I do not believe that the Navy's role and the Trident's appearance at Seafair are a celebration or glorification of war. Instead, they are but a recognition of the positive, historical significance of the Navy to this region. Seattle and Seafair have a long record of welcoming the Navy's participation in this annual community celebration, and I'm proud that Seattle can host the men and women who serve this country in the armed forces in times of peace.

Again, I appreciate your input on this emotional issue. I am forwarding your message to the organizers at Seafair so that they are also aware of your concerns. Should you have any further question, please call Seafair at 728-0123, or access their web site at www.seafair.com.

This continuous string of platitudes, masquerading as a letter, reveals the strange and insidious way that military propoganda has invaded our political culture. Norm is quick to mention that it's been over 50 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hence a nuclear holocaust could never happen now. This begs an obvious question: why have these weapons?

It's a question that can't be answered honestly by Rice and the many other politicians lining up for (their) God and Country. In ascending order of importance, we have them because a) they might be used, b) they are used to blackmail other countries when economic terrorism isn't sufficient, and c) they are one of the largest and most vicious corporate welfare schemes in world history. Feel like celebrating yet?

The "opportune reminder of our ongoing duty as Americans [sic] to leave our children with a safer world" has done the exact opposite. Nuclear weapons protect the interests of the few and bankrupt and terrorize the other six billion of us. The catastrophe known as the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is an "opportune reminder" of their environmental impact. The culture of secrecy surrounding the U.S. nuclear establishment--the public can't even be trusted to have an honest knowledge of the damage at Hanford caused 50 years ago, for example--is no endorsement for their safety or their effect on our children's future. There is, instead, plenty of evidence--ignored by Rice & cohorts, but endorsed by most other countries on the planet (it's called "disarmament")--that nuclear weapons have no place in a "safer world."

Our liberal mayor has swallowed the old reactionary adage: "we need nukes to keep the other guys from using theirs." Too bad there are no "other guys" left. Graduate into the real world, Norm.

Rice also claims that the Navy has had a "positive, historical significance" to this region. He can't provide us with any examples. There are none. Aside from the military's propensity to leave behind superfund sites when they relocate, there's problems like increased prostitution, drug use and trafficking, alcohol-abuse related crimes, and incidences of domestic violence and sexual assault associated with the location of a military base in our backyard. And, of course, the enormous sums of money siphoned by militarism could be used instead for some of the many social problems we no longer seem to have funds to address. That would be a far more positive contribution to the region.

Inviting families, as a day of fun-filled summer entertainment, to gaze at a first-strike nuclear submarine on the anniversary of one of the great war crimes of history is truly sick. If Rice really wants August 6 and 9 to be days of peace and justice in Seattle, he should do more than sign one of the dozens of pointless proclamations that pass through his office each week. He should refuse to use city (and taxpayer) funds to support this gratuitous insult to the estimated 210,000 people who died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and he should put Seattle on record as stating that machines of global annihilation are not welcome here.

The USS Ohio is expected to arrive on Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 1:00 PM, at Pier 91 (off W. Galer and 15th). A large protest contingent will greet them, and a continuous encampment is being planned during its stay through Monday, Aug. 11. For more information contact

Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia, 206-547-0952, Church Council of Greater Seattle, 206-525-1213, or Physicians for Social Responsibility, 206-547-2630.