Nonproliferation and Disarmament: First Pillar to Strengthen the US

“Today, let me put forward four pillars that I believe are fundamental to the future that we want for our children: nonproliferation and disarmament, the promotion of peace and security, the preservation of our planet and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people."

- President Barack Obama UN Conference 9/23/09

Today, in his first speech as president to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama stressed the need for nuclear nonproliferation. Obama stated that America will work to ratify the Test Ban Treaty and that, “all nations have the right to peaceful nuclear energy; that nations with nuclear weapons have a responsibility to move towards disarmament and those without them have the responsibility to forsake them.…We will work with others to bring the Treaty into force so that nuclear testing is prohibited.”

President Obama went on to single out Iran and North Korea for their development of nuclear weapons.

Obama said, “In their actions to date the governments of North Korea and Iran threaten to take us down this dangerous slope… We respect their rights as members of the community of nations. I am committed to diplomacy that opens a path to greater prosperity and a more secure peace for both nations if they live up to their obligations.”

On Thursday, Sept. 24 Obama will lead a special session of the UN Security Council in regards to nuclear issues.

Will Iran and North Korea sign the CTBT? Is Iran really using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes? Was Obama wrong to single our Iran and North Korea? Will the US really ratify the Test Ban Treaty more than ten years after the document was signed?