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Obama’s Nuclear Posture Review soon to be released

Nuclear Madness Month at the White House, The Atlantic, Mar 31 2010, Next week kicks off nuclear madness month at the White House — or, as one senior administration official resignedly describes it, “all nukes, all the time.” By mid-May, the world ought to know whether President Obama is really a deterrencer in a dove’s clothing. And we’ll know whether his efforts to convince China to support sanctions against Iran were successful……..The long-awaited Nuclear Posture Review, which will spell out quite clearly what President Obama really believes about the future of nuclear weapons.

It is just days away from public release. …..40+ heads of state will gather in Washington, D.C. for a nuclear security summit. The main subjects: securing nuclear weapons, preventing nuclear terrorism and smuggling.

Then the Senate begins debate of the START follow-on treaty; whether enough Republicans in the Senate come on board depends a lot on whether the Nuclear Posture Review changes or preserves current policy, which gives the U.S. a wide degree of latitude about when and whether to use nuclear weapons.

In early May, a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review summit begins, and the agenda items are quite technical — but critical. There will also be basic questions asked: is the treaty working? What incentives can be added to encourage compliance? What penalties can be added to discourage noncompliance?

So — big picture — Obama talks a good game and has an expansion vision. What will we learn about he’s going to get it done?

Nuclear Madness Month at the White House – Politics – The Atlantic

April 2, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons