| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Almost four years have passed since President Obama made his speech in Prague, outlining an agenda of nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and counterterrorism that envisioned "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." His speech pledged a number of actions including: reducing the United States' (and others') reliance on nuclear weapons for national security, although he made clear that the United States would maintain "a safe, secure, and effective arsenal to deter any adversary and guarantee that defense to our allies;" negotiating a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia, leading to further cuts with all nuclear states; seeking U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT); introducing a new treaty to end the production of fissile materials intended for use in nuclear weapons (now the proposed Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, or FMCT); strengthening the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a basis for cooperation; and expanding partnerships to lock down sensitive materials, break up black markets, detect and intercept materials in transit, and otherwise disrupt the illicit nuclear trade. "Because this threat will be lasting," Obama said, "we should come together to turn efforts such as the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism into durable international institutions?…" He also announced "a new international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world in four years.
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