U.S. NUCLEAR STRATEGY TO MAKE OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION
– That’s a Good Thing –
Washington DC – February 12, 2013– News Release – The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation applauds the President’s boldness in planning an aggressive new direction for U.S. nuclear policy and expects the President to provide a teaser for his new policy objectives in this evening’s State of the Union.
On February 2nd, Vice President Joe Biden gave some insight into speech saying in part, “it will reflect our shared interests in the following areas: advancing a comprehensive nuclear agenda to strengthen the nonproliferation regime, reduce global stockpiles and secure nuclear materials…”
Nuclear disarmament and arms control have been signature issues for President Obama’s foreign policy legacy. In his first foreign policy speech in Prague on April 5, 2009, he said, “I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”
This statement is an heir to trans-decade bipartisan support for a nuclear weapons free world voiced by members of both political parties including Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan, Bush and Clinton.
“I’ve been working on this issue for more than three decades and I’ve seen a continuous progression within the mainstream of both parties moving toward a safer world with fewer nuclear weapons,” said John Isaacs, executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and Council for a Livable World.
A year and three days after his 2009 Prague speech, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the first agreement in President Obama’s nuclear legacy, the New START Treaty.
In preparation for the speech, senior Administration and military officials have noted “head room” around the number of warheads allowed by the New START Treaty suggesting a renewed push on the part of President Obama to decrease the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and free up billions in federal dollars.
“From the top ranks of the Administration, we’ve heard that we can reduce the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal while maintaining national security and, in fact, enhance security by saving billions of wasted dollars on costly nuclear weapons programs,” said Lt. General (ret. USA) Robert G. Gard Jr. PhD, Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Members of the Center’s staff, including General Gard and John Isaacs, are available for pre and post-speech comment and TV and radio bookings; to speak with the Center, please contact the Center’s communications director at jlewis@armscontrolcenter.org or 202.546.0795 X2113. The staff of the Center and Council for a Livable World will be live-tweeting the speech using @nukes_of_hazard, @LivableWorld, @laicie, managed by senior policy analyst, Laicie Heeley and @JimCACNP, managed by communications director, Jim Lewis.
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The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a Washington-based non-profit think tank working to reduce the number of nuclear weapons stockpiled across the globe, increase international nonproliferation programs targeted at preventing the further proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorism, redirect U.S. military spending to address 21st century security threats and halt the proliferation of biological and chemical weapons. www.armscontrolcenter.org
