Living up to nuclear expectations

The Guardian ^ | March 01, 2010 | Julian Borger

[Jet Jaguar]

Washington's review of US nuclear doctrine has been delayed yet again awaiting the president's final say, but the existing draft falls well short of the expectations Obama raised last year in Prague

The much-delayed Nuclear Posture Review was due out today. It had previously been expected on December 1, and then February 1. Now the talk is of late March or even early April - perhaps April 5, to mark the first anniversary of Barack Obama's landmark speech last year in Prague.

That speech is one of the reasons for the delay. Obama pledged America would work towards a "world without nuclear weapons". It was a world that might not be achieved in his lifetime, but he promised to take "concrete steps" to put America on a trajectory towards that end point.

To put an end to Cold War thinking, we will reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, and urge others to do the same.

The debate is still going on inside the administration, but it is clear that at this point, the draft Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) document is hard to square with the above pledge. Today's New York Times has an account of the state of play.

This is what I understand to be in the draft. When it comes to declaratory policy - the broad statement describing the circumstances in which America would use nuclear weapons - the options being laid before the president are:

[SmokingJoe]

Washington's review of US nuclear doctrine has been delayed yet again awaiting the president's final say, but the existing draft falls well short of the expectations Obama raised last year in Prague

If the British think eliminating nuclear weapons at a time when Pakistan, India and psycho countries like North Korea and Iran are busy aquiring nuclear weapons, the British are free to eliminate all THEIR nuclear weapons. What the Guardian can do is BUTT OUT of our business or what we do with OUR nuclear weapons.

[Red Dog #1]

Obama is trying to out do the Washington Treaty. Of course that didn't work out very well, did it?