Photo: Gregory Yamamoto, Honolulu Advertiser
The arrival of the USS Hawaii was hyped by the media and marked with lots of pageantry, but the irony of a war machine being draped with a lei of aloha was not lost.
Dr. Glenn Paige, a retired professor at U.H. Manoa wrote the following letter to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin:
(Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Tuesday, July 28, 2009)
Sub does not deserve ‘aloha’I wonder how many readers were shocked by the Star-Bulletin’s July 24 welcome to the nuclear submarine USS Hawaii with the banner heading, “7,700 tons of Aloha.” According to the Pukui-Elbert dictionary, “aloha” means “love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness” and more.
By all accounts, the USS Hawaii, with sponsor Gov. Linda Lingle’s initials inscribed on a keel metal plate and a Hawaiian blessing by a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard, is the most murderous war machine yet devised by the lethal ingenuity of mankind.
Its presence in Hawaii does not make the islands safer, but a target, as did the ships at Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Much greater safety must be sought in developing the applied multidisciplinary science of nonkilling security in Hawaii, the Asia Pacific region and the world Furthermore, despite celebration of the boost to Hawaii’s economy, the cost of the $2.6 billion killer submarine constitutes what President Eisenhower in 1953 called “theft” by warships and guns from those who are hungry and poor.
Glenn D. Paige
Author of “Nonkilling Global Political Science,” Honolulu
In his weekly flyer, the 411th since September 11, 2001, Hawai’i Island activist Jim Albertini added these facts about nuclear-powered and armed submarines such as the USS Hawaii:
Please note: The USS Hawaii is able to launch Tomahawk nuclear-armed missiles far more powerful than the atomic bombs which destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The USS Hawaii can also deliver comandoes in violation of other nations sovereignty. The Navy acknowledges discharging 4,843,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste into Pearl Harbor from nuclear-powered submarines as of l973. Since then they have withheld data about such discharges. The Navy also admits to dumping over 2,000 fifty-five gallon steel drums of radioactive solid waste on the ocean floor off Hawaii’s shores. (Source: The Dark Side of Paradise, p.l8) What effects such pollution may have on marine life and, in turn the health and safety of Hawaii’s people is simply not clear. But it is commonly accepted that there is no safe level of radiation, and even low-level doses of radiation accelerate our aging process and may cause cancer. And let’s not forget the confirmed military radiation contamination in Hawaii from weapons training that has yet to be fully assessed.
I am a parent of a submarine sailor. I am NOT a militarist; I don’t want my son to go off to ‘glorious’ war.
Glenn Paige is mostly correct in his analysis of the lethal abilities of a nuclear attack submarine, but he has omitted (perhaps for security reasons) the nonlethal missions our attack submarines are tasked with.
For security reasons, I will only note that of the hundreds of submarine deployments that occur every year, very few (none?) involve firing a weapon in anger, and very many (all?) involve gathering intelligence.
Surely, knowing what rogue states like North Korea intend to do by listening in on their internal military communications traffic is a peaceful, and peace-generating mission. If the President KNOWS the North Koreans are trying to sell nuclear material, he can properly apply peaceful diplomatic pressure from the global community to dissuade them. And I’m sure a deliberately very visible periscope in the water behind a freighter carrying illicit nuclear material helps, too.
Without firing a shot.
By the way, this post is tagged with ‘nuclear weapons.’ It is important to publicly recognize the difference between nuclear weapon (offensive / deterrent) and nuclear power (propulsion.) Mr Paige’s categorization of USS Hawaii as the ‘most murderous war machine yet devised by the lethal ingenuity of mankind.’ is incorrect even if she were armed with nuclear weapons, as Mr Albertini asserts. That title still belongs to the Ohio class ballistic missile submarine (not based in Hawai’i.)
As to the larger issue, the militarization of society, I think it’s absolutely proper that we, the citizens, speak out about what we believe in. Kudos for being a part of the process.