Antinuclear

Obama soon to announce the USA’s Nuclear Posture Review

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 | 1 | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons