Disturbing report, from The Guardian
Unilaterally cutting your own strategic arsenal isn’t just naive, it’s downright dangerous. Consider the implications here — Obama has just signaled to the Russians and Chinese that we’ll drastically reduce our nuclear forces without a quid pro quo. That means that both nations are free continue the aggressive upgrades to their strategic nuclear forces (particularly so in Putin’s Russia), without having to worry about what the U.S. or international community thinks. The START Treaty, a valuable agreement that downsized the US and Russia’s deployed nukes in a pragmatic, safe way, is set to expire in December. Thanks to Obama’s baffling impatience with diplomatic process, he’s now completely compromised our two most important bargaining chips — the European Missile Shield and our nuclear inventory — without even sitting down to the table. And when it does come time to negotiate a new arms reduction treaty, we will have absolutely zero leverage. Did the President not study the most successful disarmament model, in the treaties signed during the Reagan years? Does he not understand stabilization through the balance of power, projection of strength, and goal-orientated (not ideologically orientated) foreign policy — otherwise known as freshman grade realpolitik? During the short history of nuclear arms, there has never been a more dangerous epoch than the early 21st century, where non-proliferation efforts have widely failed. By surrendering the only two negotiating tools with muscle behind them, Obama has just flashed a green light to every aspiring nuclear power and every potential strategic competitor: build your bombs. There’s nothing we will -or can- do about it. Aside: “the president’s weapons?” Seriously?
