Analysis: Obama tells foreign policy experts his goal is non-nuclear world

By Matthew B. Zeidman

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Hollywood Today) 7/17/08 – On Wednesday, a major public figure told the nation his plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons. No, “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” wasn’t being shown on HBO. It was actually Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama revealing his intentions to a group of foreign policy experts.

“It’s time to send a clear message to the world,” Obama told the group gathered at Indiana’s Purdue University. “America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons.”

Making clear he didn’t intend to push for full American disarmament any time soon, he did imply nuclear non-proliferation and reduction on an international scale would be central to foreign policy in his administration should he be elected president.

“As long as nuclear weapons exist, we’ll retain a strong deterrent, but we’ll make the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons a central element in our nuclear policy,” said the Illinois senator.

Obama also mentioned North Korea and Iran, two nations that have been at odds with the global community over their nuclear weapons and nuclear power programs. He suggested sanctions should be continually and aggressively pursued as a means of pressuring the historically unfriendly states into compliance.

According to a 2006 estimate published in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, at least 27,000 nuclear weapons are still active and in the hands of several governments worldwide (mostly the United States and Russia). Due to his lack of superpowers and penchant for diplomacy, it seemed increasingly unlikely Obama would gather the remaining warheads in a large net and hurl them into the sun.