How important is radiation in the energy balance of a thermonuclear plasma?

The assertion that radiation losses from the plasma preclude the attainment of a positive energy balance and, therefore, ignition in a fusion reactor made by Hashmi and Staudenmaier in a recent paper [Physica Scripta 62, 268 (2000)], is incorrect. The purported shortcomings in the approach to fusion physics do not exist. (orig.)