With all the excitement about health care insurance reform, and the resulting meltdown of conservatives, some important news has been overlooked or denied its rightful prominence. President Obama has reached an agreement with Russia for a 1/4th reduction in activated nuclear weapons.
It may be only 25%, but it’s a good first step, and helps build trust with our old cold war enemy. Frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if Obama found them easier to work with than Republicans in DC. Anyway, he is to be applauded for this critical step in making our world safer.
Treaty Advances Obama’s Nuclear Vision
If President Obama signs the treaty with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia in Prague on April 8 as expected, it will give Mr. Obama a stronger hand heading into two back-to-back nuclear summit meetings where he wants to push toward the nuclear weapons-free world he envisions. At the two meetings, Mr. Obama hopes to forge international consensus to limit the spread of weapons and secure materials that could be vulnerable to terrorists, efforts that could be accelerated by the new treaty.
The agreement has to be approved by Congress, naturally. Get ready for a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Cheney family and their warmongering fan club, including the Oklahoma delegation.
You moron, do you honestly think Russia is going to follow thru with it? There is always a secret (other), or “quick” get-up program.
In fact, his is a repeat of what Clinton did, and after Clinton left, Russia said it just put their missles on reduced status .. only would take 15 minutes to power up again.
I think Russia will do what is in Russia’s best interest, which in this case is to reduce its nuclear weapons. And if we are smart — and we finally have a smart president, we’ll see how smart Congress is — we will help them in this, which — what do you know! — is in our best interest too. This is what treaties are made of. This agreement is regarded as a continuation of the arms control work of President Reagan, perhaps you trust his policy instincts more than mine.