by Marcus Papadopoulos
THE Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has warmly welcomed Barack Obama’s speech in Prague in which he outlined his ambitious goal of a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons.
CND chair Kate Hudson said: “These concrete steps towards resolving the global dangers of nuclear weapons are very welcome. They have long been the demands of not only the disarmament movement, but the vast majority of states. Progress on these initiatives will open the way towards the ultimate goal of ‘global zero’. This process, which had stalled during the Bush years, is being brought back to life under the Obama presidency.”
During his visit to Prague, on the back of a European tour which began in London with the G20 summit, the American President said that as the United States is the only country to have used a nuclear weapon, it “has a moral responsibility to act” and to lead the campaign for the eradication of weapons which constitute “the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War”.
Mr Obama went on to say: “In a strange turn of history, the threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up. More nations have acquired these weapons. Testing has continued. Black market trade in nuclear secrets and nuclear materials abound. The technology to build a bomb has spread. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal one.
“So, today, I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”
In a move which will please Russia, Mr Obama said Washington would negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Kremlin which would be “legally binding and sufficiently bold”.
Mr Obama said the test-firing of a rocket by North Korea, which could enable the reclusive Stalinist state to develop a long-range missile capable of striking America’s western seaboard, “underscored” the need for the international community to strengthen the current Non-Proliferation Treaty.
CND also condemned Pyongyang’s rocket launch. Ms Hudson said: “This is an unnecessary and provocative action by North Korea which, regardless of whether its intentions are peaceful, risks others seeing the launch as a threat to regional security.”
