Nuclear accident already one of worst ever
WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- The failure of several reactors after the Japanese earthquake is already one of the worst nuclear crises ever, an expert said Sunday.
Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Joseph Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund said: "This is already one of the worst nuclear accidents in history if it stops right now. And we're dealing with multiple meltdown possibilities.
"There were actually incidents at other nuclear facilities in Japan that would have been significant incidents by themselves, but they're caught in the wake of these major crises at these nuclear reactors that possibly will melt down in the next couple of days," he added.
"Nuclear reactors are built to withstand crises, and even multiple crises," Cirincione said. "But it's very hard to build a facility that can withstand this."
The United States is sending radiation experts not only to help the Japanese, but to monitor the possible risk of radiation spreading to Pacific Islands, Hawaii or even Alaska and the West Coast in the event of meltdowns, ABC News said.
Japan quake could slow U.S. nuke expansion
WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday the nuclear power industry needs to absorb the lessons from the Japanese plant crippled by last week's huge earthquake.
Lieberman, Ind.-Conn., said he still favored building new nuclear plants in the United States but wanted designers to pay close attention to what was going on in Japan, where engineers struggled to prevent radioactive material from leaking out.
"I don't want to stop the building of nuclear power plants, but I think we've got to kind of quietly and quickly put the brakes on until we can absorb what has happened in Japan as a result of the earthquake and the tsunami," Lieberman said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
Nuclear power expansion in the United States largely ground to a halt after the Three Mile Island emergency in 1979; however, there have been calls for new reactors using new and presumably safer designs.
New York Times Washington correspondent David Sanger opined that the issues with the nuclear plant would start to dominate media coverage of the earthquake response, particularly given what he said was the government's reputation for glossing over past nuclear accidents.
"Here you don't know how much of this is just the fog of confusion and crisis management and how much of it is trying to just make sure that people don't panic," Sanger said.
Sen. Schumer: Libya no-fly more likely
WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- A no-fly zone over Libya is more likely now that the Arab League has endorsed the controversial idea, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday.
In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Schumer said he believes Congress should defer to President Barack Obama on the matter as commander in chief of the U.S. military.
Schumer praised Obama's refusal to use the U.S. military to back Libyan rebels until an international consensus had been reached.
"We have learned in the past when we go in militarily there are all kinds of other types of consequences," said Schumer. "It is much better to do it in a multilateral way, with all the nations of the world on board.
"The Arab League, NATO will get on board, and I think it makes a no-fly zone much more like to happen shortly," he predicted.
Crowley out after dissent on Manning
WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley was out of a job Sunday after criticizing the prison treatment of accused leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning.
In a remark to a few people at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last week, Crowley said the treatment of the accused WikiLeaks source in the Quantico, Va., brig is "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid."
After BBC blogger Philippa Thomas reported the statement, President Barack Obama asserted at a Friday news conference Manning's conditions of detention were "appropriate and are meeting our basic standards."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday she accepted Crowley's resignation with regret, The New York Times reported. The resignation was first reported by CNN.
"P.J. has served our nation with distinction for more than three decades, in uniform and as a civilian," Clinton wrote in a statement.
Manning's lawyer says the soldier is being forced to be naked on the pretext of suicide prevention.
Crowley said he takes "full responsibility" for his comment.
"The exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values," he added.
