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The current proposal to develop nuclear power in the Middle East is a threat to the National Security of the United States.

Due to the continued instability and regime changes, it would be a threat to the security of everyone who lives in that region.

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Putting aside the fact that spent nuclear fuel is key in producing nuclear weapons, more nuclear waste will be produced and there is no plan to store it.

That waste will be highly radioactive for tens of thousands of years… and cost TRILLIONS of dollars to maintain properly.

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“The EPA’s order, which caps decades of bureaucratic delay, intense debates and public protests, is expected to take fewer than five years and cost those responsible for the site an estimated $205 million.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/09/27/epa-orders-extensive-cleanup-radioactive-waste-site-near-st-louis/

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But that’s Hanford… it’s almost 100 years old.
Surely things have gotten better since then?

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https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-power-plant-decommissioning/#:~:text=The%20decommissioning%20of%20Fukushima%20Daiichi,companies%20and%20new%20electricity%20providers.

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Even if everything goes well, the price to build those nuclear power plants outweighs any potential gains.

And those returns won’t be realized for DECADES to come… that’s only IF everything goes well.

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“72% of the cost increase was due to indirect costs, indicating a large increase in expensive professionals such as engineers and managers.”

https://progress.institute/nuclear-power-plant-construction-costs/

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TRANSLATION: The people who keep these plants operating SAFELY.

Lax regulations and a changing climate puts everyone’s lives in jeopardy.

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“Nuclear power plants in Washington were canceled after estimated construction costs increased from $4.1 billion to over $24 billion… and two South Carolina reactors were canceled after costs rose from $9.8 billion to $25 billion.”

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36 nuclear power plants at $25 billion each… that’s $900 billion.

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“For Gulf Arab rulers who fear that Washington is not a reliable long-term guardian, nuclear power generation may offer an alternate path to maintaining a US strategic interest in securing their regimes.”

https://thebulletin.org/2020/03/for-uae-the-political-perks-of-nuclear-power-eclipse-economics/

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Building nuclear power plants isn’t the way to do that. Maintaining peace and security, for your nation and your neighbors, will do that.

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Our National Security… in fact, the security of the entire WORLD depends on our listening to wise counsel.

Who should be advising us on what our nuclear strategies should be… and who shouldn’t.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-flynn-nuclear-exclusive/exclusive-mideast-nuclear-plan-backers-bragged-of-support-of-top-trump-aide-flynn-idUSKBN1DV5Z6

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The only answer is PEACE. Everything else will follow.

-JC

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Screenshot from: The Katie Phang Show, MSNBC. (10\7\2023)

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“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

-George Santayana

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Some say history repeats. Some say history rhymes. But we mustn’t forget-
History can SING as well. And sometimes… history CRIES.

I’ve recently found myself thinking of the stance Rep. Barbara Lee took on the floor of the House of Representatives, following the attacks on 9/11. Being the ONLY Representative to oppose military action in the aftermath of those terrorist attacks, and the way things have turned out since… memories I haven’t thought of in quite a while. I might have gone the rest of my life without thinking of them, as it was all so long ago. And yet… it seems like only yesterday.

In this moment, it’s difficult for me to say it’s a GOOD THING we’ve recently been remembering her strength and courage. But… I hope Senator Feinstein won’t mind if I do.

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In the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001, there was only ONE thought on every American’s mind…

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Vengeance.

As the search for SURVIVORS had only just started and as the fires at Ground Zero STILL raged. Even as the true scope and magnitude had yet to be realized… one voice SPOKE OUT.

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“Let us not become the evil that we deplore.”

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Where would we be NOW had we followed that advice?
What outcomes could have been avoided… what more could we have done.

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Our desire for vengeance led us down the path to DESTROY our enemies. ‘Dead or alive’ I believe he said. Curiously though, given enough TIME, those feelings seem to fade…

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“I don’t know where he is… I don’t spend that much time on him.”
-George W. Bush (03/13/2002)

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After just a few months, emotions seemed to calm. Securing the Homeland became our top priority, and everyone felt the need to rally around the FLAG…

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Because we all know what happens to those who SPEAK OUT against a
Righteous Vengeance…

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/opinion/guantanamo-detainees.html

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And now all we can say is, ‘Look at all the terrorist attacks we prevented… all the LIVES we might have lost… if we didn’t ACT.’

When you stop and think about it… all the surveillance, the security, the creation of new Government Institutions… eventually, they did become EXPERTS in preventing terrorist attacks…

**Terrorist Attacks, like the ones that were successfully carried out on THEIR WATCH.**

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If only those measures had been in place from the start.

But things happen… fog of war… lack of imagination.
Warning signs missed… messages unsent.

‘We couldn’t have known… I don’t think anyone could have known…’

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https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/leadup-iraq-war-timeline/

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Israeli_judicial_reform_protests

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I won’t stand here and tell anyone not to follow their heart. After all we’ve been through, to do so would be hypocritical. But let our story STAND as an example. Take heed of the lessons WE have learned… and pray you never learn these lessons the hard way.

After TWENTY YEARS of war, did we achieve our mission objectives? In some ways yes… in some ways, no. Osama bin Laden is dead. Those who plotted and helped carry out the attacks have been captured… but at what COST.

Has Justice been served? Are the families of the victims at peace with their loss? Have our actions served to HONOR the memories of those we lost? Would they be PROUD of what we have done… in their name.

It would be presumptuous of me to evoke a story from religious texts, considering the nations and peoples who are involved. The birth of religion ITSELF springs from that Sacred Land! All eyes look to them for our spiritual guidance, to the EAST… toward the land where that Ancient LIGHT has risen.

All other nations are jealous of the treasures with which they’ve been BLESSED. But now, we all stare in HORROR… knowing that once again, peace will be pushed aside.

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IF our primary objective is to prevent another 9/11 from happening, then we must act. NOW… before it’s TOO LATE.

The only answer is PEACE. To BECOME PEACE… to embody it. The weapons of war are used AGAINST PEACE… therefore no one in their right mind would attack a peaceful nation or society.

That story rises above all else. We must become that which we wish to see.

We HONOR those we have lost by ensuring it will never happen again.
That is real courage… that is real strength.

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“Let us not become the evil that we deplore.”

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Amen.