Monday, February 01, 2010
(graphic: Nick Bygon)
In a twist of logic, Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barack Obama is claiming the nation must spend more money on nuclear weapons in order to get rid of them. That’s because a new treaty the administration is negotiating with Russia to reduce nuclear stockpiles may not get ratified by the U.S. Senate unless President Obama satisfies the demands of Republican lawmakers and Joe Lieberman.
The White House is working on a new agreement that would trim the number of American and Russian nuclear warheads to 1,675 each. At the same time, President Obama is preparing to ask Congress to increase spending on the nuclear arsenal by more than $5 billion over the next five years. The funding would go towards modernizing the nation’s nuclear weapons complex by building new facilities in New Mexico and Tennessee than can test and refurbish existing warheads to ensure they still work into the future, all in the name of guaranteeing security.
Without the funding and modernization efforts, all 40 Republican senators and Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are threatening to block ratification of the new treaty if it is submitted.
Meanwhile, some arms control advocates are concerned the new weapons facilities could be used—if Washington chose to do so—to design and build new warheads, instead of just maintaining the status quo.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Obama to Seek Major Increase in Nuclear Weapons Funding (by Jonathan S. Landay, McClatchy Newspapers)
'Nobel Peace Prize-Winner Barack Obama Ups Spending On Nuclear Weapons to Even More Than George Bush' (by Carol Driver, Daily Mail)
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