WASHINGTON – Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) have sent 20,000 letters to the White House and to the U.S. Senate protesting President Bush’s Dec. 13 decision to abrogate the 1972 Antiballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and forge ahead with his missile defense scheme.

In a statement released the day the letters were sent, PSR said it “condemns unequivocally the move by President Bush to unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 ABM Treaty. On behalf of more than 20,000 doctors, nurses, public health professionals and others, PSR is urging all Senators and responsible political leaders to show their support for this vital treaty” and to oppose withdrawal from the treaty.

Bush made the announcement at the same time he released the sensational tape of Osama bin Laden, insuring that his trashing of a treaty that is the centerpiece of arms control was buried by the media. The agreement, which prohibits both the U.S. and Russia from deploying an anti-missile shield, “has been key to the prevention of nuclear war and reductions in nuclear arms for 30 years,” the physicians’ statement said.

“It is just appalling,” said Martin Butcher, a PSR spokesperson. “Here arms control advocates were finalizing an agreement to ban biological weapons and the Bush administration just walked away from it. It is within the power of the administration to do something to curb weapons of mass destruction and yet they refuse. We are disappointed that there has not been a stronger reaction from Congress.”

An exception is a House Resolution introduced by Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Cal.) and endorsed by more than 20 lawmakers that strongly endorses the ABM Treaty and calls on Bush to reverse his decision.

Bruce Gagnon, director of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, said Bush scuttled the ABM Treaty so he could forge ahead with his drive to deploy a Star Wars weapons in space system.

He pointed out that Bush appointed Air Force General Richard Myers, formerly chief of the U.S. Space Command, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “Myers’ appointment signifies the ascendancy of the U.S. Space Command and the issue of weapons in space,” Gagnon said.

“Together with Bush’s withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, this is a step toward global instability. The violation of the ABM Treaty by the U.S. is a signal to the rest of the world that the U.S. no longer believes in international agreements, that the U.S. is going to do anything it wants to do.”

Gagnon warned that the likely response of Russia, China, India, Pakistan and other nuclear powers will be to counter the anti-missile system by sharply increasing their nuclear missiles and multiple warheads to preserve their deterrence, thus triggering another arms race.

“This is going to be enormously expensive,” Gagnon said. “It’s going to mean cuts in education, health care, Social Security and on down the line. The losers will be the American people. The only winner will be the military industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned against.”

Council for a Livable World leader John Isaacs denounced Bush’s ABM decision as the most dangerous in a list of 13 initiatives by Bush “that will undercut international cooperation to cope with the spread of weapons of mass destruction.”