NATO Document Advocates Nuclear Disarmament For The Organization

NATO Headquarters in Brusse, Belgia (Image:NATO)

NATO Document Addresses Nuclear Disarmament -- New York Times

BERLIN — Two months before what could be the most important NATO summit meeting in more than a decade, the 28 member states of the alliance have received a draft of its new strategic concept, which for the first time, at the insistence of Germany and other countries, includes calls for nuclear disarmament.

At the same time, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s secretary general, has completed another highly classified document, numbering several hundred pages, that will be attached to the final strategic concept. Mr. Rasmussen’s document sets out in detail how NATO would react and assign units and forces to respond to a range of attacks — terrorist, cyber, conventional, nuclear or other — several diplomats said Thursday.

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Update: Draft NATO Strategy Calls for Nuclear Disarmament -- Global Security Newswire

My Comment: With any other US President, such a document would be dead on arrival. But with President Obama in the White House and Secretary of State Clinton running foreign policy .... anything is now possible.

Nuclear Disarmament Hinges On Missile Defence Dispute

Image from vrroom.naa.gov.au.

From New Scientist:

After almost a year of negotiation, the US and Russia have finally settled on a plan to further reduce their vast nuclear arsenals. If the new agreement is approved, the number of deployed warheads by will be cut by 30 per cent over previous targets. But an ongoing dispute over a European missile defence shield has the potential to scupper the plans.

The US and Russia hold some 95 per cent of the world's nuclear arms, including an estimated 4700 deployed nuclear warheads. The new agreement – a follow-up to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) – would cut the number to 1550 warheads per country over the course of seven years.

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My Comment: Nuclear disarmament hinges on many things .... missile defense being a minor one.

President Obama's Nuclear Goals Are Hitting A Wall

Obama's Nuclear Arms Pledge Hits Stumbling Block -- Times Magazine

When President Barack Obama pledged to move toward the abolition of nuclear weapons in April 2009, replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) was supposed to be the easy first step. But the 1991 agreement, which limits the number of long-range nuclear weapons in Russia and the U.S., expired on Dec. 5. And a replacement has yet to be agreed upon.

An intricate kind of mimicry must be choreographed in arms reduction, requiring all sides to resist the urge to twitch as guns are lowered simultaneously, with parity maintained throughout. Nothing is easy. Yet State Department spokesman Darby Holladay told TIME that negotiators are making "significant progress" toward a START replacement. There may still be hope for a swift resolution to outstanding problems.

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My Comment: Arm control agreements have always had a problem on the issue of trust. President Obama may "trust" the Russians (to a point) .... but the Russians clearly do not trust President Obama, and are basing their negotiations on this sentiment.

In all fairness to President Obama .... the Russians would probably employ the same tactics on any other President. History has been very unkind to Russia, and their behavior will always reflect this reality.

Where Do Nuclear Weapons Go To Be Disarmed?

Photo via Spectrum

The US and Russia Agreed to Disarm Hundreds of Nukes - But Where Will They Go? -- Tree Hugger

In what's being hailed as an historic accord, Obama and Russian president Dmitri Medvedev have agreed to scale back the number of nuclear weapons each country deploys by nearly a third--now, each side will cut their supply from 2,200 to between 1,500 and 1,750 nukes. Which is a good, small step for nuclear nonproliferation. But of course it takes a skeptical environmentalist to rain on the parade--but come on, aren't you curious? Where's that massive pile of nukes going to go, anyways?

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My Comment: This is an older article thatI never posted. Well .... here it is.

Obama's Pledge To Cut Nuclear Weapons Wins Praise From China, Developing Countries At UNW

Opening Session of the Preperatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the State Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. (NTP Prepcom), 2008 in Geneva. Photo from Wikimedia.

From L.A. Times:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Barack Obama's pledge to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons won praise Monday from China and key developing countries, and spurred hope that Washington's policy shift and new U.S.-Russian cooperation will end a long deadlock on global disarmament efforts.

But at the start of a U.N. meeting to prepare for a 2010 conference to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, country representatives tempered their welcome by saying they want to see results.

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My Comment: The whole point of President Obama's world tour was to get everyone to "like us". But saying one thing .... and then implementing it .... these are two totally different situations. I expect the implementation part is going to disapoint a lot of people.

Obama Launches Effort To Reduce Nuclear Arms

US President Barack Obama delivers his speech in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, April 5, 2009. Obama will also attend a summit between the United States and the 27-member European Union in Prague on Sunday. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)

From Yahoo News/AP:

PRAGUE – President Barack Obama on Sunday launched an effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons, calling them "the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War" and saying the U.S. has a moral responsibility to lead as the only nation to ever use one.

In a speech driven with fresh urgency by North Korea's rocket launch just hours earlier, Obama said the U.S. would "immediately and aggressively" seek ratification of a comprehensive ban on testing nuclear weapons. He said the U.S. would host a summit within the next year on reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons, and he called for a global effort to secure nuclear material.

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More News On President Obama And Nuclear Weapons

Obama calls for reduction in nuclear weapons -- CNN
Obama Calls For Reduction Of Nuclear Arms -- CBS
Obama Details Anti-Nuke Plan -- Voice of America
Many obstacles to Obama nuclear dream -- BBC
In Prague, Obama Set to Speak on Global Arms Control -- Washington Post
Obama Wants World with No Nuclear Weapons -- The Times
Obama Outlines Disarmament Plan -- Wall Street Journal
Obama's Bipartisan Moment on Foreign Policy -- LA Times opinion