101 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
101 lines
4.8 KiB
Plaintext
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May 1988 (vol. 4, #4)
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1601 N. Tucson Blvd. Suite 9, Tucson, AZ 85716 c 1988 J Orient
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SOVIET BUNKER NETWORK REVEALED
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The vast Soviet network of shelters and command
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facilities, under construction for four decades, was recently
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described in detail by Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci.
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The shelters are designed to house the entire Politburo,
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the Central Committee, and the key leadership of the Ministry of
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Defense and the KGB. Some are located hundreds of yards beneath
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the surface, and are connected by secret subway lines, tunnels,
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and sophisticated communications systems.
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"These facilities contradict in steel and concrete Soviet
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protestations that they share President Reagan's view that
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nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought," Carlucci
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said (Arizona Republic, April 3, 1988). "These facilities reveal
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that they are preparing themselves for just the opposite."
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The shelters are also protected against chemical warfare
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agents, and stocked with sufficient supplies to allow the
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leadership to survive and wage war for months.
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In contrast, the limited US shelter system begun in the
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1950s has mostly been abandoned.
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"To have something comparable, we'd have to have
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facilities where we could put every governor, mayor, every
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Cabinet official, and our whole command structure under-ground
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with subways running here and there," Carlucci said. "There's
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just no comparison between the two."
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Soviet civil defense, which is celebrating its 56th
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anniversary, is more than just shelters, according to
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Sovietologist Leon Goure, who recently spoke at a seminar for
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young leaders sponsored by the Ethics and Public Policy Center in
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Washington, DC. Soviet CD aims to protect the economy, in accord
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with Soviet doctrine that lack of preparedness in any area
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imperils the existence of the state. Goure noted that population
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protection is essential so that the people can supply the army.
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Soviet values dictate that citizens most valuable to the state
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are to be protected first.
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At Chernobyl, all public services responded quickly.
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Within 24 hours, 1300 nurses and physicians, 240 ambulances, 250
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firefighters, 2000 policeman, and 1100 buses were available. On
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the other hand, the experience demonstrated that the state of
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readiness was not as good as previously thought. In particular,
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civilians were not very well educated at operating radiation
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monitors. But rather than abandoning the whole idea, the
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Soviets are engaged in an upsurge of civil defense activities to
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repair the deficiencies, Goure said.
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One contrast between Chernobyl and American nuclear power
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plants is the blast shelter from which plant workers managed the
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shutdown of the other reactors near the site. (The Nuclear
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Regulatory Commission does not require on site shelter for
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American power plant workers.)
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For further information on Soviet civil and strategic
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defenses, consult the 1988 edition of Soviet Military
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Power, available on request from the Defense Publications
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Office, 202-697-5737.
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ArMA NUCLEAR PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM
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To implement the resolution favoring civil defense
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participation that passed at last year's House of Delegates
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meeting, nuclear preparedness is part of the Current
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Perspec-tives curriculum at the Arizona Medical Association
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meeting, Thursday, June 9, at Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort,
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Tucson. The program will be presented twice, morning and
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afternoon.
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Dr. Orient will summarize weapons effects and protective
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measures, using slides prepared by the USSR Department of Civil
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Defense. Phoenix radiation oncologist Kenneth A. Lucas, MD, will
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present his review of the German data from the Hamburg
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fire,storm. This event, often cited as "proof" that shelters
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don't work, in actuality demonstrated the opposite. Arthur
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Robinson, PhD, will discuss fallout protection. Dr. Robinson has
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reviewed literally thousands of studies at the Oak Ridge National
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Laboratory, and has designed steel shelters that can be
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constructed at very low cost. Petr Beckmann, DrSc will speak on
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the subject "Chernobyl, Etc.: Nuclear Accidents and Terrorism."
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Dr. Beckmann publishes the newsletter Access to Energy, an
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important resource for all who are interested in environmental
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health hazards. (AtE readers learned about the indoor radon
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problem in 1979, long before the popular media caught on.) Dr.
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Beckmann was an enemy of public hysteria even before the AIDS
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epidemic. Eugene Zutell, emergency planner in the Arizona
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Division of Emergency Services, will emphasize long-term weapons
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effects such as "nuclear winter"
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Continuing Medical Education credit is offered. There is
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no charge to ArMA members; the fee for nonmembers is $50. Advance
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registration is required. Write to ArMA, 810 W. Bethany Home Rd.,
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Phoenix, AZ 85013.
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