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Problems for Obama’s nuclear policy

Nuclear Proliferation Threatens Obama Policy AVIATION WEEK By Bill Sweetman
Washington 6 Jan 2010
The coming year will see nuclear weapons higher on the political agenda than they have been in years, as President Barack Obama’s ambition to move toward a nuclear-free future collides with the desire of other nations to join the nuclear club or keep their memberships current.

Developments to watch include U.S.-Russian discussions over a follow-on to the just-expired Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the 2003 Moscow Treaty, which expires in 2012. The Obama administration’s goal is to negotiate further reductions. As for multilateral treaties, the U.S. is looking for worldwide acceptance of a comprehensive test ban treaty, and limitations on the production and transfer of fissile materials.Domestically, the administration faces opposition on two main points. Critics warn of an over-hasty reduction in warhead counts, arguing that such a move could lower the bar for countries seeking “major nuclear power” status by acquiring a stockpile of comparable magnitude to those of the U.S. and Russia. There is also concern that the administration’s unwillingness to consider a replacement nuclear warhead for current missiles—known as the Reliable Replacement Warhead—will, in the long run, make it expensive and difficult for the U.S. to maintain nuclear forces.

Nuclear Proliferation Threatens Obama Policy | AVIATION WEEK

January 7, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons