President Obama naively suggests the world can be free of nuclear weapons if the U.S. and Russia commit to arms reduction. Obama is negotiating a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia in December 2009 which could reduce the U.S. and Russian operational nuclear warhead arsenals from over 2,500 to 1,500 warheads each. The treaty assumes we can verify the Russians destroyed their 1,000 warheads. The treaty will also reduce the number of long range missiles.
The reduction in U.S. nuclear/missile capabilities jeopardizes our national security because a number of other countries maintain nuclear weapons, including China, Pakistan and North Korea. Iran is currently developing nuclear weapons and Syria desires to have a nuclear capability.
The world will never be free of nuclear weapons because countries like North Korea and Iran are lead by dictators who lust for the threatening power of nuclear weapons and the capability to use their nuclear arsenal against perceived enemies.
President Obamas lofty rhetoric sounds wonderful to himself and the Nobel Peace (In Weakness) Prize Committee, but I doubt he will satisfy his appetite for appeasement and get the leaders of the nuclear armed countries around a camp fire to toast the elimination of nuclear weapons and merrily sing Kumbaya.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH
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