By Steven Mufson
A group of nuclear nonproliferation experts (click here) gathered in the White House Situation Room last Halloween to talk about how President Obama could still make nuclear security an important part of his legacy.
The timing was coincidental, but the location reflected the sensitivity and gravity of the agenda: loose nuclear material, superpower nuclear arsenals, nuclear terrorism, tensions with Russia and the unpredictability of North Korea. The administration also was hunting for ideas about what might be still doable in the president’s waning days in office.
The muted, closed-door White House meeting was a far cry from the rousing speech Obama delivered on April 5, 2009, before a crowd in Prague’s Hradcany Square. There, a hopeful Obama set high goals for reducing the risk of nuclear weapons. He vowed to shrink the U.S. nuclear arsenal, secure poorly guarded nuclear materials such as uranium and plutonium, convene international nuclear summits, and confront and contain North Korea, which just that morning had tested a long-range missile....
Given the ridiculous position Russia took at the 5 year review of the NPT it is time the USA assign a special council with enough staff to build a global consensus to move this forward for every country on Earth. It is necessary. It is time the communists stop using the NPT as part of a strategy against the Free World and disarm from nuclear weapons.
April 4, 2019
By Steven Pilfer of Brookings
April 5 marks the 10th anniversary of the speech (click here) in which Barack Obama laid out his vision for a world without nuclear weapons. It did not gain traction. Instead, the United States and Russia are developing new nuclear capabilities, while the nuclear arms control regime is on course to expire in 2021. The result will be a world that is less stable, less secure, and less predictable.
A Worthwhile Vision
Just 10 weeks after his inauguration, President Obama’s first trip to Europe took him to Prague. Speaking in Hradcany Square, Obama voiced his deep interest in reducing nuclear arms, including a “commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.” He added that reaching that goal would require time, and that, as long as nuclear arms existed, the United States would maintain a “safe, secure and effective” nuclear arsenal....
