WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Barack Obama reiterated his call Tuesday for the United States to play a leading role in the fight against nuclear proliferation.
It is critical to "reduce and ultimately eliminate" the risk posed by nuclear weapons at a time when organizations like al Qaeda are seeking fissile material and countries like Iran are trying to acquire a nuclear capability, Obama said.
The president pledged to take "verifiable steps" on the issue, which he said had a long tradition of "bipartisan support" at key junctures in U.S. history.
Obama made his remarks at the end of an Oval Office meeting on U.S. non-proliferation policy with former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, former Defense Secretary William Perry, and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia.
Schultz, who served under President Reagan, told Obama that the issue is "really non-partisan."
Obama urged nations to get rid of nuclear weapons at a speech in Prague at the beginning of April. He called such arms "the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War" and said the U.S. is committed to reducing nuclear stocks within the next four years.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have announced that their countries will begin negotiations aimed at reducing their respective nuclear arsenals.
"One of the things I have always believed strongly is that both the United States and Russia and other nuclear powers will be in a much stronger position to strengthen what has become a somewhat fragile thread-bare nonproliferation treaty if we are leading by example and if we can take serious steps to reduce the nuclear arsenal," Obama said during an April 1 news conference.
Obama is slated to travel to Moscow in July.
From CNN Politics
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Someone needs to tell the him that it's pronounced "Nookular." Sheesh, can't he get anything right? Have a nice day!
Coddling terrorists. Playing footsie with Ahmadinejad. Hugging Castro & Chavez. Spending us into oblivion.
Obama now wants to reduce our defenses?
He is a greater danger to America's safety than Osama Bin Laden!!
A reduction in the U.S. and the Russian arsenal is where it needs to begin. If both countries began to decrease it's arsenal, they'll have a stronger case to make to those countries seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.
New!!! When did America ever live in this Century? They are still trying to correct their own past. So they think by Electing a Black-man. America can move on. No! Sorry America. You just went back a hundred years. Better luck in your next idiocy...
Yes, I agree. Let's reduce "newkilla" threat once and for all.
Obama Victim,
Just how many times must we be able to blow up the world. We have enough weapons on just our side to wipe out a galaxy and the Russians do also. Nuclear weapopns would certainly work against non-state actors. Who do you want to wipe out-Iraq?, Iran?, Pakistan? Afganistan? Remember that the fall out has to go somewhere and winds blow west to east so who is to the eastof Pakistan, and Afganistan? That right, Hawaii and then the US. Aren't three-headed frogs enough? We poisoned the water so I guess it is time to re-dirty the air (and this time permanently).
@Obama Victim May 19th, 2009 4:59 pm ET
+++++++++++++++
Riiiiggghhhtt...... we should continue the policies that got us where we are..... because THIS TIME they're going to work!
You idiot.
I'm waiting to hear what you, the obvious "smart guy" would do.... Nothing? Ramp up the military with items we don't need and make us less prepared to fight the wars of THIS century?
Nothing? Figures.
You are as dumb as most of your Republican brethren.
Le'ts see if OBUMMER does anything against IRAN. If he can talk them out of NUKES, I'll be very happy; however, I have my doubts, and I expect OBUMMER (The Con Artist) to be all talk and no action.
@ Obama Victim:
Coddling terrorists. Playing footsie with Ahmadinejad. Hugging Castro & Chavez. Spending us into oblivion
-------------------------------
Where do you GET these ideas??/ The President is acting in his capacity as a DIPLOMAT! (I know you must have forgotten what one looks like, as we haven't had one in...oh, 8 years!)
I'm proud of our leader who doesn't think that every negative situation MUST end in WAR!!!
Have a nice day!
Is this what the Biggest Celebrity in the World was discussing with James Bond? The sheep eat up anything this guy does.
I suppose the King Obama wants the US to do away with our nukes saying it will make us safer. Dumb and only the far left wingnuts believe him.
Someone tell this idiot in the White House that the US reducing its nuclear arsenal does not reduce the nuclear threat.
Unbelievable the ignorance of this guy!!!
No, no, no, no, no! Don't eliminate our nuclear missile arsenal. If you think that by laying down our arms our enemies will do the same you are an absolute fool. Our strong military is what keeps our enemies at bay. The only way to ensure peace is by being ready to go to war.
I think that the nuclear threat should not be underestimates, and it's good to see Obama taking the lead on this issue. I also think he should take leadership in addressing other global issues like severe poverty. The Borgen Project has good info on the estimated cost of ending global poverty:
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.
$550 billion: U.S. Defense budget.
Morons, he's talking about reducing, not eliminating our nukes. Do we really need the capability to destroy all life on earth 10 times over? We can put the money saved towards weapons we are much more likely to use in 21st century wars. Yeah, an ICBM is really effective against a militant insurgency. Have a nice day!
God, you people are IDIOTS.
The biggest nuclear threats are Pakistan and Iran. We should buy Pakistan's arsenal (secretly) and we should help isreal bomb Irans arsenal (secretly) and that will eliminate half of the nuclear threat!
Yes, and Obama will achieve this monumental feat by asking Iran "pretty pretty please, with a cherry on top."
POTUS Fail.
My fellow liberals,
When you debate someone who is conservative, try not be funny or witty. Don't crack any jokes at any time, because you will lose them. Simply dismantle their argument and show them the error and why you feel the way you feel.
Sarcasm and witt confuse conservatives. That's why they think liberals hate America
How many times do we have to be able to destroy the world?Phoenix86, Mississippi Mike an the rest of you moronic Republican trash should take a long walk off a short pier and increase the IQ of our nation.
to stop Iran and N. Korea as they continue to develop their nuclear weapons programs....
Iran and N. Korea now know that Obama is weak and given to speeches rather than action-so why should they fear him? It's obvious they ignore him--
To Bobby in Md.
"Diplomacy is the art of saying ...nice doggy...while looking for a rock."
-Will Rodgers
Can you tell me exactly WHERE it has worked?
Ask Neville Chamberlain.
is being ignored by N. Korea and Iran-–why?--because they know he's a woos and will take no steps to stop them-we're in deep doo-doo.
And for Kelby in Houston...
"If not a liberal in your twenties, you have no heart. If still a liberal in your forties you lost your mind."
Witty enough for you?
We started this nuclear nonsense. We must take the lead in eliminating the threat. Not even Obama can snap his fingers and make it go away. It will take a sustained effort for many more years to achieve anything close to a true end to nuclear proliferation.
Had the outcome of the presidential election been different, by now, McSurge would have invaded Iran and North Korea. And we would be in a deep depression. Maybe God is on our side.
I do not believe the wing nuts who think we will be weaker if we can only destroy the world 10 times over instead of 20 times over?
tom May 19th, 2009 5:39 pm ET
+++++++++++++
Churchill was funny, you are not.
Obama is a coward and has no balls to stand up to anyone of the top 3 tyrants. Kim Jon il, Ahmad Amjuradden, and Putin (like we dont know Putin pulls the stings in his country)
Iran will produce a nuclear weapon and threaten everyone in the region and the US will do nothing but talk and negotiate. Obama is a puppet to the strings that the Clintons are pulling.
Obama sucks and should be impeached!
As usual it doesn't mean a thing. Remember when Clinton and the Russians stopped "Pointing" their nukes at each other and the media swooned how great it was and what a diplomat Clinton was. It takes 10 minutes to re-aim these things.
Once again Obama says what focus groups and language experts show people want to hear, it makes them feel good. The truth is he won't unilaterally disarm and niether will anybody else. Nor will the Russians or the Chinese and especially the Israelis agree to eliminate their weapons arsenals. I hope people will start to figure this guy out,
2010 can't come fast enough.
For the last 8 years, Bushwhacker did nothing to stop Iran. But now, the wingnuts have become impatient and cannot wait a few weeks until the Iranian election.
Oh great ,now Obama is going to disarm us-he's got to be stopped,I don't know how, but it's going beyond stupid,he is dangerous and putting our country at great risk.
The Democrats are more than carried away with "CHANGE",for some unknown reason things that have been working all along,now ,with their neighborhood leader,need to be screwed up,and everything needs to be put at risk,WHY ???
As usual it doesn't mean a thing. Remember when Clinton and the Russians stopped "Pointing" their nukes at each other and the media swooned how great it was and what a diplomat Clinton was. It takes 10 minutes to re-aim these things.
Once again Obama says what focus groups and language experts show people want to hear, it makes them feel good. The truth is he won't unilaterally disarm and niether will anybody else. Nor will the Russians or the Chinese and especially the Israelis agree to eliminate their weapons arsenals. I hope people will start to figure this guy out,
My fellow conservatives,
When you debate liberals, please try avoid using FACTS, reason, and pointing out liberal hypocrisy. Please understand liberals FEEL their way through issues.
The recent court decision to protect emails within the Bush Administration was "baaaad" – it didn't FEEEEL right therefore MUST be a miscarriage of justice. Interjecting "rule of law" and the fact 5 Supreme Court Justices sided with the Bush administration is quite confusing to liberals.
If a liberal FEELS it – it must be true.
#44 working hard to make America a third world nation.
Maybe my THIRD message will get posted.
Just dont understand why a liberal has to HATE and SPEW more hatred when someone disagrees with them? What a sad state of affairs.
BTW: Congress spends the money NOT the Pres. And for 2 years you all had the show and spent. Granted Bush should have vetoed more, but didn't. But it was the CONGRESS that got us here.
Enjoy the bickering
I am concerned that our president may decide, in his apologetic style, to reduce our arsenals first................
Quite a bit of attention has been mentioned that the dems had control of congress for the past 2 years. . . Fact: A 55-44 majority was achieved when the new 109th Congress gained control in Jan 2007; it was a NOT fillibuster proof majority which is generally needed to pass contentious legislation.
Why must we always play the "leading" role? Why can't our president consider having the bad guys reduce first............? No chance.
@Randolph Carter May 19th, 2009 5:28 pm ET
I assume you CAN read? Here is what NObama said: It is critical to "reduce and ultimately eliminate"
He said it, you just didn't read it....
1 term-then they all will be gone.
Did any of you even read the article? How most of you come to your conclusions here is beyond me...
Brian, DEMOCRATS spew Hate? What? Oh please, give me a break.
If I had a dollar for every Obama hate-filled comment I've read, I could bail out AOG myself. Hypocrit.
The Bushies let North Korea do whatever they pleased, and let Iran loose by knocking off Saddam Hussein, who was quite the little deterrent. Actually, if you want to know why the Middle East is in 100% wrse shape post-Bush, go back and read the statement by his father regarding why he was not going to go all the way to Baghdad after Desert Storm. Young whipper snapper just HAD to listen to Dick. Great, now we have a real mess. It may take Obama a bit longer that 4 months to fix it!
Obama Victim,
you're an idiot
Who names their kids "Kelby"??
When you brake the law, as the Bush administration did, it doesn't just FEEL bad. ITS ILLEGAL YOU MORON
and dont even get me going about GOP and facts, oh boy those two words should never be mentioned in the same sentence.
Wow, so many hyperbolic people, so little common sense and decency. Obama is right, you can't talk to people who aren't interested in talking. There are very few comments here worthy of reading, but then, the people on these blogs are mostly trying to vent their frustrations anonymously rather than try to add anything useful to the conversation. Doubt if they know this could be a conversation. What a pitiful group of people blogging here. I predict more people will die of H1N1 than died on 9/11, should we spend as much on health care as we did in response to 9/11?
So what if Iran builds their bomb?
The Iranians have no beef with us whatsoever, except that we overthru their ruler, installed the Shah, causing homeini to rise to power, and the islamic revolution.
Whether we meddle in the middle east, or central America, WE BRAKE THINGS. The US should not be in the business of creating and getting rid of leaders, WE SHOULD BE IN THE BUSINESS OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE CHOSEN LEADERS.
Obama is a true idiot.... He has forgotten 911 ... How dare you think these people want to be our friends...
I have a son and a husband in the service and this just makes me sick.. They are proud of thier country and YOU should be ashamed of yourself I know I am knowing your a President of the United States and you go around having tea and crumpets thinking if we just say America is sorry can we be friends...YOUR AN IDIOT OBAMA!!!!
The New Confederate Party lost again.Poor little darlings.
The real danger to the U.S.'s safety is all you boneheads out there looking for "the next enemy" and threatening other countries. If you go around spoiling for a fight, you're sure to find yourself in one before long. It's this kind of aggressiveness and arrogance that creates all the ill will toward America, you jingoistic scum!
Larry wrote: The Democrats are more than carried away with "CHANGE",for some unknown reason things that have been working all along,now ,with their neighborhood leader,need to be screwed up,and everything needs to be put at risk,WHY ???
Things that have been working all along? Classic. Funniest post of the week. Have a nice day!
And if we dismantle all the nukes, where do we bury them? Let sleeping dogs lie..................
Great, but please get China involved. They are the biggest national threat to this country. They ARE building WMDs. In fact my granpa lives in a village near a nuclear materials factory. But to me everyone in the world seems to be ignoring this threat, and instead we send jobs there. Please stop their rise of power Mr. President. George Bush ignored them, maybe some sensible folk will pay attention.
P.S. Where do u think N korea got their supplies?
Tulsa May 19th, 2009 5:32 pm ET
How many times do we have to be able to destroy the world?Phoenix86, Mississippi Mike an the rest of you moronic Republican trash should take a long walk off a short pier and increase the IQ of our nation.
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Sorry Tulsa, you have it backward, losing you would increase the IQ of the nation.
The Broker. May 19th, 2009 5:07 pm ET
New!!! When did America ever live in this Century? They are still trying to correct their own past. So they think by Electing a Black-man. America can move on. No! Sorry America. You just went back a hundred years. Better luck in your next idiocy…
-------------------
You are correct, as it has been scientifically proven that genetically black people are less intelligent than white people. You increase the IQ of the black race by mixing in white genes.
We should know. We are the only country to date who has used nuclear weapons against civilians 'in order to save lives.' We don't seem to trust anyone else with that same justification... Democracies are sure so much more peaceful and stable than the 'rogue' states...
As someone who studies this issue specifically, I am very pleased with his steps today. Like most issues, you cannot really explain the complexity of such a problem, how to solve it, or address criticism in a comments section. However, from my knowledge on the subject, this is a much needed step in the right direction to ensure our security for the future.
I encourage everyone to support the President in what he is trying to accomplish with regards to nuclear weapons.
If we are able to secure all the fissile material that can be made into weapons, then that is one less thing that we have to worry about. How can you go wrong with this kind of program. If we can use the material in fission reactors (reprocess it and use all of the reprocessed material), then we can do something useful with this stuff. Fission weapons are dangerous things. We all need to be aware of that.
Yeah, Nuke em First !