Obama's mission to reduce N-Weapons

US President Barack Obama has pledged to reduce the number of nuclear weapons and curtail their role in his country’s national security strategy, even while maintaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent.

In a statement to mark the 40th anniversary of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Obama also said that his administration would seek ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by the US Senate and negotiate a treaty to end the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons.

“Our forthcoming Nuclear Posture Review will move beyond outdated Cold War thinking and reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy, even as we maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent,” he said.


He expected a new START Treaty that is now being negotiated between the US and Russia to significantly reduce the nuclear arsenals of both countries.

Obama, who will host a nuclear security summit in Washington next month, reaffirmed the US’s resolve to strengthen the nonproliferation regime to meet the challenges of the 21st century and pursue the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be among the leaders of 40- odd countries attending the two-day summit that will pursue the goal of securing the world’s vulnerable nuclear materials in four years.

Forty years after the NPT entered into force, the threat of global nuclear war may have passed, but the danger of nuclear proliferation endures, making the basic bargain of the NPT more important than ever, Obama said.

At the NPT review conference to be held in New York in May, the US proposes to enforce the rights and responsibilities of every nation.

To ensure the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Obama said the US would seek a new framework for civil nuclear cooperation among nations, including an international fuel bank and the necessary resources and authority to strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In a separate statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton singled out North Korea and Iran for continuing to “defy the international community and their own obligations”