Editorial cartoon drawn by Jason Poland
The Cold War is over. It’s been over for quite awhile, in fact, but people still fear nuclear attacks.
World leaders are trying to deal with this reality, and President Barack Obama’s attempts to squelch the threat of nuclear weapons, while a step in the right direction, will do little to correct the true problem.
On Thursday, Obama signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, replacing the expired START treaty of 1991.
Somehow, the fact that both countries will only posses a maximum of 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads is far from comforting. It will still be more than 3,000 weapons too many.
The real nuclear threat, however, no longer comes from Sarah Palin’s neighbors to the west.
This is the 21st century; terrorists are the real hazard, and global nuclear warfare no longer seems likely. Obama even admitted as much at the START treaty signing ceremony in Prague.
“Nuclear weapons are not simply an issue for the United States and Russia,” Obama said at the event. “A nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist is a danger to people everywhere — from Moscow to New York, from the cities of Europe to South Asia.”
The very existence of nuclear arms in America and Russia puts both countries, as well as the rest of the world, in grave danger. Terrorist networks have only become more sophisticated since the Sept. 11 attacks, growing in both funds and membership.
It seems almost inevitable that, at some point this century, terrorists will manage to obtain a nuclear bomb. Al-Qaida already has made public its goal to do so, and there are far too many countries and scientists with nuclear knowledge who could be bought or blackmailed or threatened into producing weapons for them.
It would be an extremely dark day for America if the very nuclear weapons we hold in the name of self-defense were turned against us in the form of a dirty bomb.
Our president is trying to reduce this threat. Obama will convene an assembly of world leaders from 40 countries Monday in an attempt to work out a shared strategy to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
It’s a good idea, and it might even work, but it seems completely unlikely that the assembly will be willing to go to the lengths it needs to in order to keep the world safe.
The assembly’s stated goal is only to secure the world’s nuclear materials, not get rid of them entirely. With key nations such as Iran — which currently has a nuclear program it claims is for producing electricity — not attending the summit, there is simply no way to get done what needs to happen.
The only chance to truly eliminate the threat would be for the summit to somehow end all nuclear weapons research, destroy all existing nuclear weapons and place international sanctions against educating new scientists on how to create such materials.
Unfortunately, in a post-Cold War world, it seems unlikely that any country would be willing to do so.
Casey Goodwin is an engineering freshman and may be reached at [email protected]
I’m so proud of the job the President is doing. In the last two weeks, all while dodging the muck and jumping the hurdles placed by those who try and bring him down at any cost, he has passed the Jobs Bill, Education reform, Health Care Legislation, Signed really good nuclear treaties and specifically told Iran and N Korea if they are not on the treaty then they are afforded none of the protections on it from a US nuclear retaliation. And now he is hosting the largest gathering of world leaders in a nuclear summit since WW2.
This President is a strong leader and a heck of a fighter. I’m sure glad he’s on my side.
Our nation is purposely in decline, and those that observe. Those who are “proud of the job the President is doing” may not realize the damage that is being done at this time. But they will not have the same freedoms and opportunities that their parents and grandparents had. Not as long as Socialist Democrats are hell bent to knock the United States down to the status of a Third World nation.
Obama rewards unemployment to the point of making unemployment palitable to create a permanent underclass. Because the taxes scheduled for 2011 will create a class of people who are so undermined that they may never recover financially from the damage that Socialist Democrats are causing. Which is exactly what Obama wants, because if you’re not dependent on government, which exactly does not makes one prosperous, you’re no good to him.
The President rewards unemployment?
Wild, last I saw he was willing to sign off on extending unemployment insurance benefits to those that have been paying into the system. It’s a tough row right now for a lot of people and while the economy is now on the upswing and Wall Street closed out today, and the last several weeks higher than it has in 3 years.
I can’t imagine wanting to deny another man unemployment benefits from the insurance pool he has paid in to. What kind of mind set is that I’m glad these people are getting help. Thank God for them there is some one fighting for them. The economy is on an upswing, things will get better, the last several use left an awful mess for this young man to walk in to, but you know.. it looks like the SOB may of pulled it off.. confidence, productivity, closing figures etc, all up..
A very good sign.. and again, while some of us are down, I am glad we don’t have a leader willing to leave them behind.
These are the best of times and the worst of times, but they are no where near the worse times ever in the nations history, in fact it rather is a good time for those of us who are optimist’s…
And I am very optimistic..anything less is whining. This is no Dust Bowl or WW2 or Great Depression. It’s not even a Vietnam or pre civil rights.
It’s always unknown what will come in the future. I certainly don’t want to make light of those before us who faced challenges that make our problems today (as a nation) seem like we are in a day at the park.
This policy is the culmination of lots of behind-the-scenes work that has been going on since the Bush era. Ukraine has committed to destroy its nuclear materials — an agreement that has crossed Ukrainian political lines and will leave us with one less country capable of a domestic nuclear weapon industry. On the diplomatic level, this is a pretty good achievement.
“It seems almost inevitable that, at some point this century, terrorists will manage to obtain a nuclear bomb.”
This needs qualifying, though.