Taking the Bang Out of Nuclear Weapons

In a stirring speech delivered in Prague a week ago, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined his vision for strengthening global efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons, moving forward on long-overdue disarmament measures and preventing nuclear terrorism. Most important, he articulated "America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

Obama's speech signals a fundamental and important transformation in U.S. thinking about nuclear weapons. He is not simply pledging to "pursue" nuclear disarmament, as past U.S. presidents have done regularly since Lyndon Johnson, but to make the elimination of all the world's nuclear weapons a central goal of U.S. nuclear policy.

Days earlier in their joint statement issued in London, President Dmitry Medvedev joined Obama in committing "to achieve a nuclear-free world while recognizing that this long-term goal will require a new emphasis on arms control and conflict-resolution measures and their full implementation by all concerned nations."

In the near term, Obama pledged that he will start the U.S. nuclear policy by negotiating with Russia on a new treaty by the end of this year that would dramatically cut U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals -- which still number about 2,000 to 2,500 that are deployed by each side.