President-elect Obama is clear that the United States faces a threat from nuclear proliferation and rogue states and terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons.
But thus far, his detailed plans to respond to that threat consist of trying to talk rogue states into giving up their nuclear weapons and ambitions, better security at nuclear weapons sites, reductions in U.S. nuclear stockpiles if other nuclear nations cut their stockpiles, and the like.
His transition Web site position paper doesn’t mention what should be done if those steps fail to curb the threat, such as further developing the U.S. multi-layered ballistic missile defense system.
Obama, with clarity, voiced his recognition of the danger posed by nukes in the wrong hands, as he introduced his national security team: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates remaining in place to provide a veteran hand on the helm at the Pentagon, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), a Senate Armed Services Committee member and wife of former President Bill Clinton as secretary of state, Gen. Jim Jones, former Marine Corps commandant and former supreme allied commander as national security adviser, and others.
Flanked by his national security team, Obama said, “The spread of nuclear weapons raises the peril that the world’s deadliest technology could fall into dangerous hands. Our dependence on foreign oil empowers authoritarian governments and endangers our planet.”
That second sentence, especially, was a pointed reference to Iran, which is producing nuclear materials in defiance of United Nations and global opposition. Iran also is gaining ever-greater missile technology. And Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be wiped from the map, and that it soon shall cease to exist, while he revels in visions of what the world would be like without the United States.
Obama also noted that the United States faces potential adversaries and rivals that provide serious competition, major armed forces with cutting-edge weapons systems.
“We are fighting two wars. Old conflicts remain unresolved, and newly assertive powers have put strains on the international system.”
That may have been a reference to a bellicose Russia and its blustering threats, and to a rapidly rising Chinese military force that soon will be a near-peer of U.S. military forces.
Obama also sees the United States itself, not just allied proxy states, facing danger from rogue nations and terrorists.
“We have a stake in what happens across the globe,” he said. “As we learned so painfully on 9/11, terror cannot be contained by borders, nor safety provided by oceans alone.
“Last week, we were reminded of this threat once again when terrorists took the lives of six American among nearly 200 victims in Mumbai. In the world we seek, there is no place for those who kill innocent civilians to advance hateful extremism.”
In his position papers, Obama has called for securing nuclear weapons materials and ending nuclear smuggling; strengthening policing and interdiction efforts; convening a summit on nuclear terrorism; negotiating with North Korea; strengthening the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); pushing for better control of fissile materials; blocking nuclear fuel for electrical plants from being used to produce weapons; setting a goal of a nuclear-free world; reducing nuclear stockpiles; working with Russia to increase warning time; appointing a White House coordinator for nuclear security; and strengthening nuclear risk reduction.
However, he doesn’t detail missile defense programs, nor specify how much financial support he might extend to each of them.