Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Senior Obama administration officials have agreed that the number of nuclear warheads the U.S. military deploys could be cut by at least a third without harming national security, according to those involved in the deliberations. Such a reduction would open the door to billions of dollars in military savings, which might ease the federal budget deficit. It also would improve prospects for a new arms deal with Russia before President Barack Obama leaves office, those involved said, but it’s likely to draw fire from conservatives, if previous debate on the issue is any guide.

When it comes to the nuclear-weapons issue, President Obama wants to be a global community organizer. However, what we really need are some tough beat cops with a mandate to clean up the neighborhood.

In the depths of the cold war, in 1983, a senior at Columbia University wrote in a campus newsmagazine, Sundial, about the vision of “a nuclear free world.” He railed against discussions of “first- versus second-strike capabilities” that “suit the military-industrial interests” with their “billion-dollar erector sets,” and agitated for the elimination of global arsenals holding tens of thousands of deadly warheads.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's vision of a world without nuclear arms is an achievable goal and the president will pursue it with an eye on the lessons learned from four decades of difficult diplomacy, the White House said Saturday. ... The challenge is to maintain an effective deterrent as long as there's any threat in the world, McDonough told reporters.

Nuclear test by North Korea will be 'provocative act:' White House Fri May 6, 3:19 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House warned any nuclear weapons test by North Korea will be a provocative act, as reports suggested an underground nuclear experiment could take place in the Stalinist state. The New York Times said that US officials familiar with satellite and intelligence data believed North Korea was building a reviewing stand and filling in a tunnel, signs of a potential underground nuclear test. "I don't want to get into discussing intelligence matters, but what I would say is that...