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Published online 8 April 2009 | Nature 458, 684-685 (2009) | doi:10.1038/458684a
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Obama's nuclear-weapons-free vision
President extends US commitment to arms reduction.
The 1986 Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev marked a turning point in the history of the nuclear-arms race between the two superpowers, with subsequent discussions leading to unprecedented reductions in their nuclear arsenals. The ambitious speech on disarmament that President Barack Obama delivered in Prague on 5 April might be a similar milestone on the way to his stated goal of "a world without nuclear weapons".
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Even as more nations have nuclear weapons, the atmosphere seems so very tense and supercharged that even a single explosion would evoke unreasoning retaliation. A mere half century ago, over 1000 weapons exploded, many of them in the air, water and even in space often with civilians watching. This is unbelievable today. Since 100 well placed bursts would send the USA back to the 17th century, even a thousand fewer weapons would still leave more than enough destructive power at the disposal of the main powers. The fewer, the better, I think. Weak but aggressive powers, like Russia or the USA, will never be able to give up these trump cards. That must be why the nonproliferation rhetoric is so shrill. Nice to see Israel included in the list of weapons holding actors.